A Tangled Christmas
by Justin Bonesteel
Summary: Christmas time is near and Rapunzel is the happiest princess in the kingdom of Corona. But when she and Eugene are summoned to the North Pole, Santa himself gives them a warning of a great threat to the Christmas spirit in the for of a scroogy person who intents on ruining Christmas with a curse that turns people into scrooges.
1. Chapter 1

**Season's greetings! It's time for a new story! This time, it's about my favorite holiday, which is Christmas! Enjoy reading the story and Happy Holidays!**

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Christmas. Everyone you know knows about it. Some love it, some don't. But Christmas is known to represent family, joy, peace on earth, and good will toward men. As for us, we think of it the same way. But while some have never heard of it, they eventually get introduced to it. It's a holiday that symbolizes that peace is important for the good of mankind, and that it had the potential to brighten up even the darkest of hearts. People say it is a symbol of reformation, and in this very time, they are right.

The story begins on December 21st, just four days before Christmas. The entire kingdom of Corona is blanketed with snow, and our favorite princess is having the time of her life. Her pet chameleon, Pascal, greeted her once she woke up.

"Morning, Pascal." Rapunzel greeted him.

Rapunzel's parents walked into her room while some of their servants carry in something covered by a tarp cloth.

"Good morning, daughter." King Frederic greeted his daughter.

"Morning, father." Rapunzel answered. "You excited for Christmas this year?"

"Your mother and I are excited as you are."

"So, what's under the tarp?"

"Oh, you'll love it." Queen Arianna replied. "It took us a few days to get it ready, but it was all worth it. BEHOLD!"

They pull the tarp cloth to reveal a beautiful ice sculpture of Rapunzel and Eugene. Rapunzel's jaw drops.

"Well, holly jolly ding dang do, would you look at that!" Rapunzel exclaimed in surprise.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"It wasn't easy, though." Frederic said. "This ice came from the South Pole! Which is why it smells like penguin!"

Just then, Eugene came into the room. "Rapunzel, you should come see the rest of the castle and town that has decorations!"

The first stop they made is in the castle living room, where it is decorated with garland, Christmas lights, and a large Christmas tree with a bright blue glowing star on top. Rapunzel was amazed by the wonder and beauty of the castle decorations.

"Wow, the servants really outdone themselves!"

Next, Rapunzel and Eugene strolled through the town square where many of the citizens are hanging decorations onto their homes. Along the way, they passed by a group of carolers who are singing.

"_Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa la-la-la-la,la-la-la-la! 'Tis the season to be jolly, fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la! Don we now our gay apparel, fa-la-la, la-la-la-la-la-la! Troll the ancient yuletide carol, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!_"

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**Merry Christmas, everybody! I hope you had a happy and joyous holiday this year! Mine was just as fantastic as the Christmases in my past years. For this year, I got all three live action remakes of the Disney movies that were released in 2019: Dumbo, Aladdin and The Lion King. I even got a bird-themed calendar for 2020!**

**The next chapter will feature a mean, grouchy and scroogy character with a personality like Ebenezer Scrooge. Like Christmas haters such as the Grinch and Ebenzer himself, he despises Christmas. He plans on ruining Christmas with a curse that turns people into scrooges which puts them all on the naughty list with this character on the top of the list, all for the sake of peace and quiet, and to put an end to all those annoying carolers and those in the Christmas spirit always bugging him with carols, laughter and happiness.**

**I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy new year!**


	2. Scrooge's Christmas Ruining (Part 1)

**Here's the second chapter of this Christmas story! Happy New Year and I hope you're ready for the start of the 20's decade! Before we begin, a friend of mine on FanFiction told me that she hasn't seen "Tangled" before. You should see it! It's a good movie! The main character, Rapunzel, is voiced by Mandy Moore, who is a singer and Mandy happens to have a pretty voice when she sings.**

**Anyway, here's where the villain first appears!**

* * *

Meanwhile, in another town where it also snowing, a man with gray hair is wearing a suit, cape, top hat, red scarf and an eye piece, and is wielding a staff with a diamond and a golden dollar sign on it. He is riding through the town in a horse-drawn carriage that's being driven by his butler. As he rides along, he has a stern look on his face.

"Jingle bells, Christmas smells." he sings to himself in a grumbling manner.

He spots a boy building a snowman trying to put a carrot nose on it, but he is too short to reach where he wants to put the carrot on. The man sees this an opportunity to show how much he hates Christmas spirit.

"Stop the carriage. Someone needs my help." he said to his butler. The carriage stops and the man gets out and walks to the boy. "Need a hand, kid?"

"Oh, thanks, mister." the boy said gratefully. He gives the man the carrot and the man puts it below the snowman's eyes and above the mouth. Then he pushes hardly to make the head fall off. "Ha!"

"Hey!" the boy exclaimed. Then the man dropped the carrot into the boy's hand and heads back to his carriage.

"You're a mean one, mister!" the boy said angrily. The man responds by throwing a snowball at him and the boy gets stuck in his own creation. Then the man gets back in his carriage.

Along the way, he hears a man exclaim, "Hey, Merry Christmas! Happy holiday, Sue!"

"Morning, Fred!" Sue responded. The man in the carriage groans exasperatedly at this.

"Season's greetings, folks!" Fred greeted the townsfolk.

The horse pulls the carriage past a group of carolers who are singing. "_God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay!_" The man covers his ears in an attempt to block out their voices.

"_Remember, Christ, our savior, was born on Christmas Day to save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray! Oh, tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy! Oh, tidings of comfort and joy!_"

Once the carriage was far away from the voices and they can no longer be heard, the man puts his stern expression back on. "I hate Christmas." he muttered.

Later, the carriage arrives and pulls over to a tall building that has the words 'Copper and Weasley Toys HQ' on it. The butler gets out of the driver's seat and goes over to let him out of the carriage.

"Here we are, sir. Your office building." the butler said as the man steps out without so much as a grunt.

They go inside the building as employees are seen making toys and so on, all sweaty and exhausted.

"Ah, I love the smell of profit in the morning." the man said.

They pass by two men as one of them sighs in sadness.

"John? What's wrong?" one of the men said.

"Oh, nothing, James. " John answered. "It's just that, well, Christmas is coming soon, and I have no idea if the boss will let everyone off for the holidays like he rarely does these days."

"Pfft, I wish! You know how scroogy that old warthog is!"

"It's just that one of my kids has started feeling unwell recently, and I just want to spend Christmas with him, and not locked in the office building that also serves as a toy factory."

"I can't imagine the odds of him allowing that. He never keeps his word these days." They see their boss arriving to a secretary.

"Morning, Scrooge McCopper." the secretary said. "You have two meetings today."

"Of course, I do, Secretary Sylvia." McCopper said. "Now move so I can attend it." He goes inside an office.

"This is my chance, James." John said.

"Oh, I don't know about that." James replied. "The last employee who tried to ask for something was hospitalized by McCopper's guards. Poor soul was trying to get the chance to see his ill wife who died afterward."

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to try." John breathes deeply. "Well, here I go."

"But you can't interrupt him in the middle of his meeting. You could get fired."

"Then I'll simply wait. I don't care what happens. I am not going to let my family down."

In McCopper's office, McCopper is counting a series of coins.

Sylvia knocks on his door and tells him, "Sir, two businessmen are here to see you."

"Send them in." McCopper sighed. He then turns his chair and sees a huge portrait of himself when he was younger and two other men.

"Ah, my old business partners and teenage friends. Alan and Drakey Weasley, dead three years on Christmas Eve which is only three days from now. Ah, those two and I had some great times. Tragic they died from an incident with a poison dart frog. Man, what funny words they said. In their last wills and testaments, they left me enough money for their tombstones." He laughs. "And I had them buried at sea. Ha-ha! You're a rotter, Mr. McCopper!"

A knock is heard. "Come in!"

Two businessmen entered. One of them was incredibly clumsy.

"Hello, Mr. McCopper." one said. "The name is Nigel, and that guy over there is my clumsy associate, Stanley.

Stanley crashes into a shelf filled with glass. "I'm okay!" he declared.

"Uh, right. Anyway, we are representatives for a donation organization. Today's projects are to keep Prison 42 afloat, as well as founding for the local hospitals, orphanages, and our biggest one, relief for the poor victims of the previous hurricane."

"It may have been two years ago, but that was a really bad storm, you know-" Stanley said before tripping and crashing into a vase. "OOF! I'M OKAY!"

"Oh, really? A charity scam?" McCopper asked.

"Hell, no, we didn't say 'charity scam', did we?" Nigel answered. "We're just collecting money for the poor, that's all."

"Oh, I see. You want me to give you money for the poor, huh? Well then, if I help you raise money for the poor, you do realize that means the poor won't be poor anymore, will they?"

"We just want to make things better for them." Stanley said.

"And if the poor is no longer poor, you won't have to raise money anymore, will you?" McCopper asked.

"Well, I suppose-" Nigel began before getting disrupted by McCopper.

"And if you don't have to raise money anymore, then you would be put out of a job and just before Christmas Eve." He pretends to have pity on them. "Oh, please, gentlemen. Don't ask me to put you out of a job! Not before Christmas Eve!"

"Wow, even for a miser, that's quite an outlook." Stanley said.

McCopper felt offended at this. "Excuse me You come in here just to insult my pride? I WON'T HAVE IT!" He shouts and presses a button. "Get me security! I need some people who are trying to trick me into giving them money for free!"

Security guards show up and grab Stanley and Nigel.

"You want some money? Well, I've got a bundle right here!" He raises his hand up. "Spend it like mad! Now, get lost!"

The security guards drag the two businessmen out of the building and threw them out into the snow.

"So, where was his bundle of money?" Nigel asked. Stanley looked at him weird.

Back inside, McCopper sighs and looks at the portrait again. "What's this world coming to, Weasleys? You work all your life to make money, and people want you to give it away! I swore to make this the best company in this town, and I meant it!"

Sylvia knocks on the door and announced, "Mr. McCopper, your nephew is here to see you."

McCopper's jaw drops open in shock and he sighs. "Send them in. By the Gods I never get a break!" He looks at his portrait again. "At least I'm happy you two won't have to deal with Christmas anymore. The plus side is that I don't have to share 50% of the business and profits with you two anymore. Yet, I have to see my nephew. I have to acknowledge my family for once after... that night." He looks sad, but sharpens up. "No matter!"

His nephew enters.

"What brings you here, Sonny, my nephew?" McCopper asked.

"Well, Uncle Scrooge, I came to ask you something." Sonny said.

"Be quick about it. I'm counting my profits. McCopper said as he began drinking some wine.

"I came to ask if you would like to come to our Holiday Festival and spend Christmas with me and my family in four days."

McCopper spits out his wine in shock. "Pardon my French, but could you run that by me again?"

"Would you like to spend Christmas with us?"

McCopper smacks away his money pile with his cane in anger as the money piles onto the floor. "I do not enjoy Christmas! Have you forgotten what it has done to me?!"

"I was only asking to see if you'd come around!"

McCopper sighs and takes a deep breath. "Sonny, I love you like a child, but please, keep your holiday spirit to yourself and I'll keep mine to myself."

"I'm sorry. I've tried for years to make you happy after what my family thinks of you."

McCopper shivers. "I left my family behind me a long time ago. You're the only family comfort I have left. And I must ask you to leave."

"Well, if you insist." Sonny sighed as he leaves.

"Bah, humbug!" McCopper grumbled as he watches his nephew leave from the window.

* * *

**Here's where the main antagonist first appears. A man with a personality like Ebenezer Scrooge named Scrooge McCopper. We haven't gotten to his evil plot scheming yet, but we'll get to that later on.**

**See you in the next chapter, and welcome to the start of the 20's decade!**


	3. Scrooge's Christmas Ruining (Part 2)

**Here's a comment about Scrooge McCopper to start off this third chapter. I can imagine him talking in Kelsey Grammer's voice because Kelsey Grammer would be the perfect voice actor for McCopper.**

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At Santa Claus's workshop at the North Pole, Santa's elves were busy making toys as usual. The head elf runs towards Santa's office while Santa was sleeping, and the elf burst in, scaring Santa to fall through the floor.

"Santa! I've got urgent news!" the head elf shouted.

"Ho-ho-holy jingle bells, what is it, Alfred?" Santa asked as he gets himself unstuck from the floor. "And how many times have I told you to knock?"

"It's the naughty list! Guess who made top-dog again for the umpteenth time in the row?" Alfred shows the naughty list, and Santa looks at the top and sees Scrooge McCopper's name on the top.

"Great galloping fruitcake, Scrooge McCopper has made the top of the naughty list AGAIN?!" Santa exclaimed in shock, then sighs. "What is this world coming to? What naughty deed did that poor bloke do this time?"

"Recently or in the past?" Alfred asked.

"Recently."

"Well, first, he had security guards throw two donation guys face first into the snow after giving them... er... the hand, I guess? Then he reacted angrily to his own nephew, despite keeping his cool. I've never seen him that scroogy before."

Santa sighs. "He still hasn't learned the true meaning of Christmas, has he?" He checks the nice list and finds Rapunzel and Eugene's names by order on the top. "Alfred, find Teddy and Dougie and tell them to go the kingdom of Corona to pick up Princess Rapunzel and Eugene Fitzherbert. Oh, and while you're at it, get my wife to make refreshments. We're going to have some company."

"Uh, why do you want us to get Rapunzel?" Alfred asked.

"Well, I gotta talk to her and Eugene about McCopper and that terrible scroogy spell of his."

"Say no more, Santa! Oh, and uh, who's coming for dinner?"

"It will just be Rapunzel and Eugene for today, Alfred."

"ON IT!" Alfred zooms off in unbelievable speeds.

Back at Copper and Weasley Toys HQ, Sylvia knocks on McCopper's office door. "Sir, one of your employees requests a meeting with you." she said.

"Which one?" McCopper asked.

"John, sir."

"Send him in." Scrooge starts to get curious as John enters the office. "Well, if it isn't my absolute favorite employee, John. What brings you to my office?"

"Well, senior, I want to talk business with you." John answered.

"Business?" Scrooge asked with surprise.

"Well, the other employees and I were wondering-"

"Yes?"

"Well, as you know, since Christmas is four days away and we know you don't like Christmas and what it did to you in the past, and we mean no disrespect bringing that up to you again because of it, but we were wondering if we could have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off?"

"Well... I suppose so. But I'll have to duct you and the other employees half of next week's pay right after you receive your Christmas bonuses."

"NO!" a voice came from the door. The two looked to see other employees at the front door.

"Awkward." James said nervously.

"Well, if that's really what you want, then fine!" McCopper declared. "You beloved employees can all take Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off but be back here on Boxing Day and work 24 hours to make up for the two missed days and your pay ducts."

"Well, thanks, senior." John said. "I thought you were gonna try to trick us into changing our minds-"

"Sylvia, put the 'Help Wanted' sign back up." McCopper said to his secretary. "I think our entire staff mysteriously vanished into thin air."

"We'll be back on Boxing Day and make up for our pay ducts, sir." one of the employees said.

"Absolutely." James agreed as the other employees nod in agreement.

"I knew you would." McCopper chuckled. Then he goes back to counting his profits. "I certainly did."

Back at Santa's workshop, Alfred summoned a fat and skinny elf. "Alright, Teddy and Dougie. Front and center! I have an urgent mission for you both."

"What's that?" asked Teddy the fat elf.

"We got a serious problem regarding Scrooge McCopper who made top dog o the naughty list, for the umpteenth time in a row."

"Again?"

"What did that stingy grouch do to get Top Dog this time?" asked Dougie the skinny elf.

"You mean recently, right?" Alfred asked.

"Yep. Fire away, Alfred."

"First off, he had two donation guys tossed out face in snow after giving him "the hand", then he got angry at his nephew for trying to invite for a Christmas party, as well as counts of being too bossy to his employees, but that's his common offense, you boys are aware of that, right? Our main concern is what I meant first and second."

"Of course, so what is the plan?" Teddy asked.

"Santa wants us to bring Princess Rapunzel and Eugene Fitzherbert to him so the big man can warn them about McCopper."Alfred said.

"So you want us to get the sleigh hitch up the reindeer, get Rapunzel and Eugene and bring them here?" Dougie asked.

"Yeah, that's the idea in a nutshell." Alfred answered.

"Alright, we'll pick those two up and bring them to Santa. Let's get the team."

At the reindeer stables, eight reindeer are seen in their feeding pens as the three elves appeared.

"ATTEN-TION!" Alfred shouted like a drill sergeant. The reindeer got up in a military stand pose.

"Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Blitzen, and yours truly, reporting for duty, Alfred!" Donner exclaimed.

"We have an important mission to complete!"

"Afraid, what is big problem?"

"Short and simple, McCopper is top dog on the Naughty List, and Santa thinks he may be on the verge to be a serious problem. We're all aware that he's a toy owner who learned how to wield terrible magic from a book of spells he found in a basement. If mad enough, he can use a powerful spell that can turn anyone just like him. More along the lines of being a Scrooge! Specifically, a person who hates Christmas. He knows a spell that can turn anyone who's heart is not pure enough and the weak-minded into Scrooges. However, it has drawbacks. One, it goes away after Christmas. And does anyone know the greatest drawback of all?"

"It's a rare spell only the strongest warlock knows?" Teddy asks unsurely.

"Close, but no!" Alfred declared and then said to the reindeer. "Any of you?"

The other reindeer except Cupid and Donner just shrugged 'I don't know'.

"Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out. Anyway, we need you eight to help us find two people and bring them to Santa. You might know them by Rapunzel and Eugene. Let's move out!"

Later on, the elves are flying on the sleigh being pulled by the reindeer.

"So, how far is the kingdom of Corona?" Teddy asked.

"Let me check the map." Alfred answered as he searches his pockets for the map. "If I could just find it in my pockets."

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**Well, looks like we finally got to Scrooge McCopper's scheming of his evil plot to ruin Christmas. He's planning to cast a spell that he learned from a book of spells that'll turn everyone into Christmas haters.**

**See you in the next chapter. T.T.F.N. Ta-ta for now!**


	4. The Mission Begins

"Oh, finally, about time to go home!" John exclaimed with relief. The other employees agree, and then a well-dressed man passed through.

"Who was that?" James asked.

"I don't know, but who cares?" John replied. "I was able to have a talk with McCooper, and live. We're gonna enjoy our Christmas, my friend!"

Back in McCopper's office, Sylvia said to McCopper, "Mr. McCopper, you have a visitor with interesting business propositions."

"Oh, really?" Scrooge asked. "Well, by all means, let him in!"

The man seen earlier walks in. "Greetings, dear McCopper. It's nice to finally see you."

"And... you are?"

"I'm Darwin Weasley. You might know me as the nephew of your old friends, Alan and Drakey."

"They never told me they had a nephew."

"Well, they don't talk about me much, despite the fact that I made them corporate people you knew they were today. You see, I am the president and CEO of widespread stores everywhere, and I have quite a deal for you since you've done so wellfor my uncles following their deaths. People say I make trillions, but heck, that's bread money to me! We make so much money, we're taking zillions. So much, we have to invent a new word for it."

"By Jove, you're that rich?!" Darwin Weasley nodded.

"You possess wealth I only wish to get! What is it you want?"

"I came to have you sign a contract that guarantees money by the hundreds, maybe in the zillions. I am looking for a toy company to partnership with the stores I run since the last one got shut down, and because your reputation perceives you, you're the only guy I need for the job."

"Me?"

"Of course. My stores are stupidly low on toys from Black Friday and we need to restock on toys before the sales of Christmas go down! And I'm sure even my uncles would allow this."

"Really?"

"Trust me, gramps! We are supply and demand! We must supply!"

"Supply and demand?"

"Of course! That would mean employees will have to work through the weekends, celebrations of any kind, even if it means Christmas Eve and Day! Trust me, the rewards are worth it, my friend."

"To be at par with the richest man ever? That's a deal I can sink my teeth into! You've got a deal!"

In the main lobby, John sighs joyfully. "Finally, after all these years of hard work, McCopper is finally coming to his senses."

"Yeah, it's very surprising." James said. "Maybe he's not so bad after all." He was proven wrong when McCopper spoke over a speaker, "Attention all employees. There will be a change in plans. For you see, I have just signed a deal my old workers' nephew, the president and CEO of widespread stores, Darwin Weasley! This company is finally gonna become rich!"

The employees get excited after hearing this.

"So that's what that guy was!" James exclaimed.

"Huh? I'm surprised." John commented. "I'm actually proud for him."

"However, sacrifices have to be made." Scrooge continued over the speaker. "You all are working through Christmas Eve and Day! He has many sales to meet and supply! This is a supply and demand world, and Christmas has no room! That is all."

"WHAT?! NO FAIR! THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!" The workers complained.

"OH, COME ON!" James complained.

"But...but he promised we would have time off!" John said in despair.

Back with the elves riding in Santa's sleigh, the reindeer are pulling the sleigh through the sky.

"Well, gentlemen, if my calculations are correct, we're finally heading into the airspace of the kingdom of Corona." Alfred announced.

"So, how do we find them?" Teddy asked.

"Don't worry, Teddy, we'll find them!" Cupid answered. "All we have to do is find the castle. That's where they live."

Along the way, Alfred said, "While we're riding, let's check on McCopper and see how he's doing." He presses a button on the sleigh and a magic mirror emerges and shows a view of McCopper's office as several employees are protesting. "Oh, no! He's at it again!"

The elves watched as John asked through the mirror, "Boss, with all due respect, what's wrong with you? What in the Santa Company is going on?"

"Darwin offered me a better deal, that's all." McCopper answered.

"Everybody calm down!" Darwin shouted. "I know this upsets you, but this is just business we're talking about."

"But this isn't fair!" James complained.

"Sorry, James, but life isn't fair!" Scrooge declared. "You'll have to deal with it if you want to keep this job."

"But, sir, you promised!" John told him.

"I'm changing the promise! I'll let you off once Christmas is over and Darwin's deal with me is complete. Christmas is just another work day, and anyone who thinks otherwise should be boiled in his own pudding!"

"Well, that's not very nice!" James exclaimed.

"But, sir, Christmas is a time for giving." John said. "A time to be with one's family."

"DO NOT REMIND ME OF FAMILY, JOHN!" McCopper shouted. "Family means nothing to me anymore. And as for Christmas, I say 'Bah! Humbug!'"

"And I say 'Merry Christmas', 'MERRY CHRISTMAS'!" James exclaimed. "Sir, you never keep your word with these things, and you're not being fair to us. Can't you just have a heart for once?"

"I don't want any more protesting from all of you! Get back to work or I'm calling in security!"

The guards come out with nightsticks. Everyone moans sadly and leaves the office.

"Wow, sir." Darwin said. "You need to keep your employees on a tighter leash."

Then the mirror ended the view.

"Oh, my gosh!" Teddy exclaimed.

"I'm afraid things with McCopper just got worse." Alfred said. "He broke his promise of letting his employees off because of his greed. I'm afraid we need to find that castle and fast!"

"Indeed." Dougie agreed. "Full speed ahead!"

"As you wish!" Donner responded and the reindeer speed up.

Back at the toy company factory, John goes back to his post with James as tears fall down his eyes. "How could he break his promise?"

"And there, I thought he had finally changed." James agreed.

"This is bad! What am I gonna tell my family? What am I gonna tell..." John sniffles. "Teeny Tom?"

Scrooge exits the building and heads towards his carriage where his butler waits for him. "Take me home, Henry."

"Yes, sir." Henry replied as McCopper gets in the carriage. Then Henry shakes the bridle, signaling the horse to start pulling the carriage forward, which it starts doing.

"SIR, WAIT!" John yelled after McCopper as he appears from out the door.

"Uh, on second thought, take me to my usual lunch spot." McCopper told Henry, ignoring John's pleas.

"PLEASE, SIR! THINK ABOUT MY SON!" The carriage just heads off into the streets as John sighs. "How am I gonna take care of my son now?" He sheds a tear and walks back into the building.

"Pardon my curiousity, sir, but what was that about?" Henry asked. "Didn't he say something about... a son?"

"Oh, just Jonathan's sob story about his sick son." Scrooge answered. "You know, it's just natural selection. If he's gonna die, let him. His death will ease the problem of the surplus population, and one less mouth to feed. Why bother to care for someone who's death is eventual?" Henry didn't respond. "Henry, what's up?"

"Oh, nothing, I was just asking. I...I didn't want to engage conversation."

"Good."

"Oh dear! Always so negative! I know somewhere under all that self-entitled wealth-loving rudness is a better man. Especially for his... nephew, the only member of his family who shows any respect for him." Henry thought.

"I think today was a special and grand day, Henry. I just signed a tremendous deal with Darwin Weasley."

"You mean the president of widespread stores, sir?"

"And the nephew of Alan and Drakey that I didn't know existed. I wonder why the two didn't tell me about him? Anyway, to my usual melon collie lunch spot. My stomach is starting to twist."

"Melon collie, sir?"

"It's a term for my depression of Christmas, Henry."

"Right, sir."

They arrive at a local cafe as the people in the store look at him with surprise, anger and disinterest.

"Sir, why are the people looking at you like that?" Henry asked.

"Probably because of the usual ways they think about me. Now let's go." They approach a waitress with a French accent.

"Ah, bonjour, monsieur McCopper! Your usual table?" the waitress greeted them.

"That would be lovely, Andre." McCopper said.

Scrooge and Henry go to Table 9 and get into their seats.

"Ahh, nothing like a nice meal after a sweet deal to sweeten the taste of profit." Scrooge sighs joyfully as several people in the cafe look at him with disinterest. "What are you lookin at me for?" They left their table. Yeesh, you'd think they'd treat an old person with some respect. Henry looks at him for that statement. "What?"

Darwin appears. "Ahh, what a coincidence! How lucky I am to run into my honorable client in my favorite cafe in the town?"

"Darwin, what a pleasant surprise to see you here!"

"I was going to go to your office and tell you about this whole deal we made." Darwin sat down as Andre appeared.

"Would you like your usual, Mr. McCopper?" she asked.

"No, I'm starting to cut back on those fattening dumplings and chicken." McCopper answered. "Just give me a turkey and mozzarella cheese sandwich with some tomato soup. Any of you want something?"

"I'm not hungry, thank you." Henry responded.

"I'd like just one dumpling and some tomato soup." Darwin said.

"And we'll just have water." McCopper added.

"Coming right up." Andre said and then leaves.

"Well, McCopper, I told the board about you, and they love ya!" Darwin exclaimed. "Your company's perfect for ensured sales! And we both are gonna benefit from this!"

"Wonderful news, Darwin!" McCopper exclaimed. "Just wonderful!"

"I can see the future, gramps! You and I are both gonna benefit from this! We'll become marketing gods among men." Andre comes with their water.

"Well, in that case, a toast to the new era of McCopper & Weasley businesses all around!" They clink their cups together.

"I can imagine tomorrow being the best day of our lives already!" They take a sip of the water.

Back with the elves, they have arrived at the kingdom of Corona and park the sleigh in front of the castle, where they are approached by the guards and their captain.

"Are you three elves working for Santa?" the captain asked.

"Yes, captain." Teddy said. "We are three of Santa's elves, and we need to see Princess Rapunzel and Eugene Fitzherbert for something important."

Rapunzel and Eugene are helping the king, queen and staff set up decorations for a Christmas party when the guests entered, escorting the three elves.

"Well, hello there, Princess Rapunzel!" Alfred greeted the princess.

"You know who I am?" Rapunzel asked.

"Of course we do!" Teddy answered. "We work for Santa Claus."

"He sent us here to find you because we got a major problem on our hands for Christmas this year." Dougie said. "A greedy man named Scrooge McCopper, who owns a toy company and hates Christmas, has learned a few magic spells and plotting to cast one of them that will turn everyone into scroogy Christmas haters. Santa needs help from you and your husband, Eugene, to stop this heinous crime of his."

Eugene comes toward them and says, "Alright, then. We'll get ready and pack our stuff."

While the princess and her husband are in their room packing for their mission, Pascal comings bounding up to the Rapunzel and gives her a look that says 'Are you two going on vacation? I want to come too!'.

Rapunzel chuckled at her pet's excited antics before telling him, "Pascal, Eugene and I are on an urgent mission to save Christmas, but I can't leave you home alone and let you become lonely, now can I?"

Rapunzel and Eugene come out with their luggage. "Alright, we're ready." Rapunzel said.

"Keep our daughter safe!" The king called to the elves.

"You can trust us with them." Alfred called back. "She'll be fine."

The two people and chameleon hopped into the sleigh with Teddy, Dougie and Alfred.

"How long will this trip take?" Eugene asked.

"It's not a long trip actually." Alfred answered. "We just need to face a few obstacles, nothing that we can't handle."

"I don't like the sound of that." Rapunzel said.

"Relax, princess, we can handle it." Teddy said reassuringly. "Our reindeer can keep us safe. Now hold on tight, we're about to take off."

The reindeer pull the sleigh quickly as the group holds on for dear life.

"AAAHHH, I WANT OFF THIS THING!" Dougie screamed.

"KEEP IT TOGETHER, SNOWFLAKE!" Alfred shouted as they zoom off into the distance.

"Good luck, Rapunzel." Queen Arianna whispered.

* * *

**Looks like our heroes are beginning their mission to save Christmas! Stay tuned for the next chapter coming soon!**


	5. The Dark Man's Scrooginess Curse

At McCopper's hometown, Scrooge is riding in his carriage.

"Ahh, a great feast to end a great day, isn't it, Henry?" he asked his butler.

"Indeed, sir." Henry answered.

"Now to return home and relax."

Once the carriage arrives in front of his mansion, which is named McCopper Manor, McCopper steps out and notices carolers singing on his lawn.

"Hey, get off of my lawn before I get out my shotgun!" he yelled at the carolers, causing them to scream and flee from his property. "Humph, perhaps they could learn a thing or two about not trespassing on other people's property!" He enters the mansion and comes to a room with magical symbols.

"Sir, I don't think Miss Porter and I agree with what you're doing with the spells her book had taught you." Henry warned Scrooge.

"Don't you think you're taking this a little too far?" asked McCopper's maid, Miss Porter.

"Miss Porter, I've tried everything I could to forget Christmas, but its existence has forced me to take drastic measures." McCopper replied. "And what better way to do that than by using _The Dark Man's Scrooginess Curse _to make them forget everything. That way there will be no more carolers on my lawn no more whiney employees and more profits and money galore!"

"Is spreading a curse all across the world for the sake of a well-beloved holiday REALLY worth it?" Henry asked.

"I don't want to hear it, you two!" McCopper said sternly. "I know you are well-trusted, but I must not be reminded of anything that reminds me of family. I've had a hard time with it, and it pains me."

"Is that why you hate Christmas, sir? Because of your family disowning you?"

"Not everyone in your family hates you, sir." Miss Porter said. "Your nephew, Sonny, still cares about you. If you do this, you'll damage your relationship with him."

"Just shut up and mind your own business! I'm casting this curse, and that's all there is to it." McCopper answered with a stern tone. "Now leave."

The butler and maid sigh and leave.

"Good riddance!" Scrooge whispered. "Now then, let's begin with the kingdom of Corona!" He begins to quietly chant the curse's incantation.

Back in Corona, King Frederic, Queen Arianna and the castle servants were still checking on the preparations in the ballroom.

"Well, everything appears to be in order." Frederic said.

"Hey, is anyone starting to feel... funny?" Arianna asked.

"Yeah, I feel like I'm gonna be sick, or something." one of the staff answered.

"We didn't eat bad fruitcake, did we?" another servant asked.

"I don't think it's the fruitcake."

Frederic suddenly begins glowing green. "What is happening to me?"

"Holy mackerel!" a guard exclaimed.

"What in the name of-" Arianna began before she and begins to glow green as well.

"What's going on over here?!" a servant asked in shock.

Suddenly, he and the other staff start glowing green too.

"What is this magic?!" Frederic asked with panic.

"My God, it must be that McCopper guy the elves told us about!" his wife answered. "He's putting the curse on us!"

"I'm out of here!" the king started to run off, but didn't get far as he freezes in place. "AHH... I...I can't move! Must fight it!" He tries, but the spell is too powerful, and he lets out a scream. "NOOO!"

Arianna freezes in place as well. "I...can't...move!" She also screams in pain.

"It's no use! The Dark Man's Scrooginess cannot be beaten." McCopper's voice is heard. "As of right now, each and every one of you will cease celebrating Christmas, and aid me into making a Christmas to end all Christmases. My business will become the greatest, and I won't stop for anything, ever! Now go out and ruin Christmas permanently, and spread the curse to others!" He chuckles, and the king, queen, guards and servants begin getting green pupils and cackle menacingly.

With the kingdom rulers and their guards and servants under McCopper's evil spell, they go out the castle door and begin spreading the curse to the citizens.

At Santa's workshop, a loud alarm is raised as all of the elves paused from making toys. Santa is woken up from the alarm wails and crashes through the floor again.

"Aw, candy canes, I just fixed this floor!" He exclaimed in despair. "Oh, well!" He checks a giant monitor, and sees a view of the world as green icons in a small area turn to red. "Uh-oh! I knew this day would come!"

Back in the sleigh, Alfred, Teddy, Dougie, Rapunzel, Eugene and Pascal are seen riding through the sky as the reindeer pull them. The magic mirror emerges and shows Santa speaking loudly.

"ALFRED, THIS IS SANTA! COME IN, ALFRED! DO YOU READ ME?!" he yelled hysterically.

"Yes, Santa, I read you loud and clear." Alfred answered. "What's the problem?"

"IT HAS BEGUN, I REPEAT, THE DARK MAN SCROOGINESS CURSE HAS GOTTEN STARTED, AND IT'S CONCENTRATED SOMEWHERE NEAR YOUR LOCATION!"

"What?!" Alfred reacted in shock. Santa shows the naughty list which shows the names of the citizens of the kingdom of Corona, including the king and queen, on it. "HOLY BOREALIS!"

"What is it, Alfred?" Rapunzel asked.

"See for yourself!" Rapunzel, Eugene and Pascal see their neighbor's names on the Naughty List.

"Oh, my gosh!" Eugene exclaimed. "McCopper's affected your parents!"

"Let's see what they did to get them here." Alfred said and the magic mirror shows the tainted victims' actions.

"If this keeps up, the curse will spread and make everyone turn scroogy!" Dougie declared. "And what's worse is that they're laying waste to the kingdom!"

Santa came back onto the magic mirror. "Calm yourself, Dougie! This is indeed a serious time for all of us, but we're helpless to contain the curse. I guess it's all up to you guys."

"Us?" Eugene asked. "Are you sure we can do this on our own?"

"You all have the hearts to save Christmas this year." Santa answered. "That got you to be the first three people on my Nice List. I know you can do it."

"Well, if we're gonna do this, we might need some help." Rapunzel said. "But who do we know can help us?"

"Just come over to my workshop! I've got the best protection in the universe. My workshop is magically protected from naughty people. As nice people, you three can safely go by. Come here immediately."

"Okay, we'll be there."

"Good! Merry Christmas even though it's not the right time to say that." The magic mirror goes back to normal.

"Well, you heard him, Donner." Alfred said to the lead reindeer. "Let's head over to that workshop and fast!"

The reindeer nods in response and he and the other reindeer speed up.

Back at McCopper Manor, Scrooge is chuckling over his success. "I did it, Henry! I finally put Christmas in a well-deserved grave! Now nothing, not even my brainless nephew, can stop me!"

"Sir, please!" Henry pleaded as he is riddled with guilt. "Why do this on such a grand holiday?"

"Like you don't already know!" Scrooge answered harshly. "Now, get out of my sight!"

Henry quietly obliged, walked out of the room and faces Miss Porter. "He's doing this all because of non-sympathetic parents!"

"Yeah." Miss Porter said. "He just doesn't understand what he's doing because of a tragic past with his family. Even having a family of his own wasn't possible since the choice he made in life made him too greedy to keep a relationship. He needs help."

"But what can we do about it?"

"Nothing except to hope for a miracle. We can't talk him out of making this rash choice, and he's too blinded by his screwed-up life to realize the consequences of his actions. Unless something comes up, nothing will get better for him." The maid sighs and they look at McCopper.

Scrooge laughs as he watches the ensuing chaos he caused through his magic mirror. "Soon, Christmas will die and I shall be the owner of the greatest toy company of all time! At last, the cycle of my despair will finally break! By next year, everyone will have forgotten about Christmas. Nothing can stop me now!"

Back in the sleigh, Rapunzel said to her husband and Pascal, "We need to get this whole curse problem fixed ASAP. Who knows how many more people will fall victim to it?"

"You're right, Rapunzel." Eugene replied. "We're the only hope for saving Christmas. Santa will know what to do. We just have to go the North Pole and talk with him about his plan. Whatever it is."

Later on, the sleigh arrives at the North Pole and Santa's workshop can be seen approaching.

"Here we are, folks." Alfred announced. "We're almost at Santa's workshop. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be expecting us in the dining room. They've prepared dinners for your liking.

The passengers see that the workshop is surrounded by an aurora-like shield.

"What's that?" Rapunzel asked as she points at the shield.

"That's the magical shield that prevents naughty people from entering the place." Dougie answered. "Some villain might wanna come in there and beat the figgy pudding out of Santa for not getting what they wanted for Christmas if you catch my drift."

"But it only allows nice people to enter." Alfred spoke up. "Any naughty person who tried to enter would be trapped in a magical present for us to send straight back where they came from. That's the nicest way we can deal with intruders." They pass through the shield without problems. "See? It's fine. Now let's get started." They enter a garage which leads to the reindeer pens and the reindeer land the sleigh right there, and the six exit the sleigh.

"Follow me." Alfred said. They leave as the reindeer enter their pens.

* * *

**Well, looks like we came to why Scrooge McCopper hates Christmas. It's because he was disowned by his family! Now he decided to exact revenge by casting a curse that'll turn everyone into Christmas haters! The first victims to be consumed by his evil spell are Rapunzel's parents! Now it's up to Rapunzel and Eugene to figure out a plan to stop this curse from getting worse.**

**The next chapter will have Rapunzel and Eugene meeting up with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Even though Christmas is over, it's important that I finish this story up first before writing a new one. Anyway, see you in the next chapter!**


	6. Santa's Plan

After Rapunzel, Eugene and the elves enter the workshop, they walk down the hall as Rapunzel sight-sees the toy machinery that crafts toys of all kinds, does welding and packaging.

"Wow! I can't believe I'm at Santa's workshop!" she exclaimed in delight.

"I know. I almost can't believe it." Eugene said. "It would be such an honor to meet Saint Nicholas himself. And I'm sure we won't be surprised that much since we already know what he looks like. Round, jolly, wears red and white, red nose and cheeks, white hair, all that stuff."

"I'm especially surprised at the architecture. How did you elves build this?"

"It wasn't hard, actually." Alfred answered. "We based everything on all known architectures."

"Clever!"

"Well, Santa's office is over there." Alfred points at a door. "Let's go see him."

Pascal jumps excitedly as he is eager to meet Santa as well.

Alfred knocks on the door to Santa's office and enters. "Santa, we've brought them here."

Santa turns his chair, shows himself and does his signature laugh.

Pascal looks at him with teary eyes. ("Wow!")

"It's him!" Rapunzel exclaimed.

"Finally! I've been waiting for you two lovebirds to come!" Santa said. "My wife is waiting for us in the dining room. She's prepared food for your liking."

"Great. It wouldn't hurt to have some dinner, right?" Eugene spoke. "After all, it's near dinnertime."

They arrive in a dining room where Mrs. Claus is waiting for them.

"Here we are." Santa said.

"Oh, they finally made it. Take a seat, dears." Mrs. Claus said. "Your dinner isn't exactly ready yet, but it will in a few minutes." The two sit down with the other elves and Santa.

"It's great that you came here just in time. We need to come up with a plan to stop Scrooge McCopper."

Mrs. Claus comes out with a cart carrying five silver platters and gives them to each one. "Here you go, dears. Fresh from the kitchen . Careful, they're hot."

Rapunzel takes the lid off her platter and finds spaghetti and meatballs. The sight of the food made her mouth water. Eugene got the same food as her.

"Well, since I'm on a diet, I get spinach and a turkey sandwich." Teddy spoke up.

"As a leading officer of the elves, I feel I need a diet as well." Alfred said. "So I just got some vegetables."

"And I get turkey, peas and mashed potatoes." Dougie said.

"My wife and I already ate." Santa said. "So, let's get down to the details of discussing my plans on stopping McCopper and his curse."

They begin eating.

"This is really good!" Rapunzel said after she took a bite of her spaghetti.

"I agree with you, Punz." Eugene said. "Mrs. Claus's cooking must literally be the best."

"It is, actually." Mrs. Claus spoke up. "I'm an expert cook. The elves taught me their far-advanced skills, and...well...you know. I'm happy you like it."

Pascal looks at Rapunzel with an expression asking for a bite of her food.

Seeing that face made the princess give in. "Anything for my favorite pet." she said as she picked up some of her spaghetti with a meatball attached to it with a fork and moves it toward the chameleon, who chews the food before swallowing it.

"Now, let's get started with this plan." Santa announced. "McCopper has been on my naughty list for a very long time. He has even learned how to use magic since before he opened his toy company. He is currently using a dreaded curse that he plans to use to turn everyone into scrooges. My diagnostics worker, Grace, says that this curse has already covered 12% of the world and will reach 100% by Christmas Eve. If this happens, then most of the world will be naughty, and I'll have no choice but to cancel my deliveries this year. And judging by what this curse had done in the past, then Christmas might be destroyed permanently."

"Wait, this curse has been casted before?" Eugene asked.

"Yes. The curse nearly destroyed Christmas. The curse is named after the dark man who developed it. This particular man hated Christmas because his family gave him little to no respect, making him a scroogy jerk. Upon discovering the dark magic, he developed the 'Dark Man's Scrooginess' to end it. But while his plan was a success, he died after one of his naughty spawn killed him with a rock. It took several years for Christmas to recover. Since then, I swore to destroy all sources of that curse. And I was able to destroy them all...or so I thought. There was one I could not account for. This particular source was discovered by McCopper, and he is now the only person who knows it. He's hidden the spell scroll so well, even I can't locate it."

"Probably because he hides it with magic." Rapunzel stated.

"Exactly. While we can't find that scroll and destroy it, there might be a way for me to convince McCopper to destroy it himself."

"How?"

"My elves had created a relic in the labs when I first became who I am now. It was meant to help provide miracles to those who wore it. The elves named it 'The Amulet of Miracles'."

"The Amulet of Miracles?" Rapunzel asked. "You mean as in the relic from those Christmas myths?"

"Actually, it wasn't before I became Santa. Back then, it was just a myth. But when I became Santa, the elves turned myth into fact, and created the relic just as the myth portrayed it. The legend says that the Amulet of Miracles was crafted by the Christmas elves before they worked for Santa, and they used it in religious ceremonies to allow spirits to bless the wearer with a balance of peace and good will. The relic allowed the wearer to see the consequences that arise from what they felt was their weakest spot by showing what they have, are, and will result in."

"It's basically 'A Christmas Carol' in a relic." Alfred spoke.

"So you're saying that you intend to have McCopper wear this amulet in order for him to see the Christmas spirit?" Eugene asked.

"Yes. Acknowledging Christmas is the only way for him to change his ways and stop all the evil things he's doing." Santa said. "Reasoning with him is out of the equation."

"Santa, why is McCopper like this?" Rapunzel asked. "Don't you know what he's done in the past?"

"I wish I didn't, Princess Rapunzel, but his past is absolutely painful. He can't even bear to explain the full story to his nephew. He has been through a bad relationship with his family after they disowned him and never wanted anything to do with him. Not even a family of his own was possible thanks to his greed. When he thinks about Christmas, he thinks about family. And he swore off his family after they didn't come to any of his birthday parties in the past. He swore to own the greatest toy company in the world, and he thinks that, in order to do it, he has to cancel holidays off, including Christmas."

"That's horrible!"

"Indeed. His employees even continue to suffer for it since they are underpaid, and they don't get satisfied with their work. Especially since McCopper changed things around. He's been in the business since he made friends with two brothers named Alan and Drakey Weasley, who died after harassing a homeless poison dart frog three years ago."

"Ooohh..." Eugene shivered as he breathes in.

"He even refused to allow anyone else take their place, and just claimed the positions for himself."

"Why did his family disown him?" Rapunzel asked. "And why is he so greedy?"

"Why is he so obsessed with being the best?" Eugene asked.

"I wish I could tell you more, but we have no time." Santa answered. "We simply must get started. We'll be able to see everything he goes through with the Snowveillance Globe in the Diagnostics Room. Trust me, all your questions will be answered.

"How do we begin then?"

"We will start with the plan tomorrow night at precisely 9:00 PM! Any later, and the Amulet will have chance of 87% at changing. When the amulet is put on, it's power will call out the three spirits. This might earn the chance that the ghosts of Alan and Drakey will come and warn him of what happens if he dies without changing. And let me tell you, it's just horrid."

"Why tomorrow?" Rapunzel asked.

"Because the Amulet only works at night around 9:00 PM, and it is now 11:40 PM, so the Amulet will not work properly at that time. My elves will drop you off there at 9:00 PM, and you'll need to put the amulet on him, and make sure nothing goes wrong. And if things should get cold, you'll have to have something to defend yourselves. We'll have some non-lethal weapons ready for you when it's time."

"Santa uses weapons?" Rapunzel asked as the group finished their meal.

"Well, we don't use guns." Alfred answered. "We only use launching cannons. Our prime weapons are coal launchers, which we hardly use. They launch chunks of coal at enemies. But be warned that they can very lethal when not used right. You could end up accidentally stoning them to death. The best way to deal with them is to clock them in the heads and knock them out."

"So we just have to knock them out? That shouldn't be too hard."

"Good. Then I trust we are all in the same page." Santa said. "My elves will escort you to your sleeping quarters."

The elves escort Rapunzel and Eugene to the sleeping headquarters. When they got there, they couldn't believe their eyes. The room is red, white and green, decorated with garland, has a miniature Christmas tree, some night-lights, and some beds with red blankets, and red and white pillows.

Soon, the two are in sleepwear with hot cocoa.

"Wow, Santa sure has great accommodations for guests." Rapunzel said. "He even got us some sleepwear and offered to wash our normal clothes. What a nice person."

"And he got us some hot cocoa and cookies." Eugene said. "And I have to say, it's very warm in here. The elves sure did well with building this room."

"Yeah. I've been getting cold on the way here." Rapunzel stated as she sips some hot cocoa.

"Well, we'll have to finish our hot cocoa fast because..." Eugene started to say but then yawned. "I think it's time we got some shuteye. We have a job tomorrow, and we're gonna need our strength."

Soon, Rapunzel, Eugene and Pascal are fast asleep, wondering what their mission will bring them to.

* * *

**Looks like the only way to stop Scrooge McCopper and his curse from spreading is to put The Amulet of Miracles on him that'll get him to see the error of his ways.**

**Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and don't forget to review! See you in the next chapter!**


	7. A Plan to Save Christmas

The next day is December 22.

"Is everything ready?" Santa asked.

"As it'll ever be." Alfred replied. "We got the reindeer hitched up. Are the princess and her husband ready?"

"Yes. I just woke them up."

Rapunzel and Eugene appear in their common attire and are yawning and tired.

"Does it have to be so late?" Rapunzel asked with a yawn. "It's only 5:00 PM."

"Well, we do have to get ready." Eugene answered. "We just need to get that amulet onto McCopper."

"You two remember the strategy we went over?" Santa asked.

"Of course we remember." Rapunzel replied. "I absorb information like a sponge."

"Great." Santa replied and then turned to a female elf. "Grace, go to the diagnostics room and start up the Snowveillance Globe. We'll need to guide these people throughout their mission."

Grace obeyed and headed to the diagnostics room. Alfred sighs in joy.

"Alfred, are you okay?" Dougie asked.

"Oh, uh, nothing." Alfred responded with a chuckle.

"Why were you looking at Grace with joy? It was almost like... there was something about her."

"That's none of your concern, snowflake! Now shoo and get the sleigh ready for takeoff."

"It's already ready."

"JUST GO!"

"Okay, okay!" Dougie runs off.

* * *

Later that evening, in McCopper's hometown, Henry is driving Scrooge's carriage with Scrooge riding in it, heading towards McCopper's mansion. "We're almost home, sir."

"Good. This work session was exhausting! I had a difficult time avoiding all those lawsuits against me from those ungrateful workers." Scrooge said. "I'm surprised John wasn't among them. But, oddly, his wife was."

"Perhaps he knew better than to challenge you and desired to avoid risking his job, or simply budget concerns. You know how his wife feels about you."

"Either way, I appreciate his obedience. James, on the other hand... I don't know. I'm worried he would seek out my life one of these days."

"Oh, it's just the stress talking, sir. James is no murderer."

"I meant he would sue me and ultimately win. Either way, I'm happy I haven't lost anything in their lawsuits." Scrooge gets out of the carriage once it reaches the mansion. "And now that my day is over, I can finally get some rest. Darwin was right, the deal we have just made will make history. I will finally do the thing that my deceased friends failed to accomplish: make this business the best in town."

"Very good, sir." Henry sighs. "Yet, don't you think that lawsuits indicate that your business is one step into becoming not the best, but the worst?"

"The lawsuits don't bother me. At least my company never lost any money whatsoever. Once this deal with Darwin's store chain is finished, and the supply and demand is supplied and demanded, and my curse consumes the entire world, my quest will be completed. And not even Christmas, with all its joy and family bull crap interfering, it will be sweetened." They enter the mansion. Then McCopper enters his room and looks into his magic mirror to make sure the curse is still going.

The mirror shows the still possessed king, queen, guards and servants returning to their castle after causing mischief and spreading the curse, putting other people under his control.

"Ahh, that was fun!" King Frederic exclaimed ecstatically. "I so enjoyed causing mischief today. Who knew it could be this much fun?"

"Did you see how I pulled that guy's pants up while he was about to so pee?" Queen Arianna and her husband laughed.

"And remember when I demolished a child's snowman creativity?" A guard asked. They laughed.

"We should do this more often." A servant remarked.

McCopper chuckles evilly after witnessing this.

Just outside the mansion, Santa's sleigh appears with Rapunzel, Eugene, Pascal, Alfred and the reindeer on it. It lands with McCopper nearly noticing.

"So, this is the place, huh?" Rapunzel asked.

"Yep. McCopper Manor, in all its sepia tone." Alfred answered. "Anyway, it's almost 9:00. We have to get the amulet on him by that time or it won't work and it'll be all over. By this time, McCopper will be ready to go to sleep. That's when we can put the Amulet on him. And I have it right here." He shows them a dark red box and opens it, revealing a pearly white and dark red amulet with a dark red ruby in the middle. It glows in white magic as the three are astonished by its beauty.

"Wow. It looks lovely." Eugene said.

"Yes. We crafted it with the upmost care, and as with all jeweled artifacts, the jewel in question is what gives it it's power."

"And we have to sneak this onto McCopper's neck?" Rapunzel asked with worry. "What if he notices it?"

"Worry not, the amulet can only be touched by pure-hearted nice people." Alfred reassured. "Naughty people will just be magically trapped inside presents just like the shield. It's magic proof. Once it is worn, nobody will be able to see or touch it until its job is completed. After that, it can be easily removed."

"Well, we need to keep this mission as quiet and gentle as possible." Eugene whispered.

"Well, it's easy. We just follow the strategy that Santa and..." Alfred shivers softly. "Grace went over with us, and we'll be able to get this over with. Keep in mind that the amulet will take a day for it to come into effect, but with the amulet's magic, nothing can stop it unless it is prevented from being worn. But given how much time it takes for it to work, perhaps we'll be lucky that the Weasley Brothers will appear and warn him about the visits."

"Well, that's great." Rapunzel said softly. "Do we have those coal launchers Santa gave us?"

"Well, given how much our plan was thought through, coal launchers would make some noise, which we have to tone down on this mission."

"Then let's get started."

Inside the mansion, McCopper is reading a book in his bedroom.

"Ohh, I didn't know hiring non-union workers guarantees more money. Wait...I did! That's why I fired all the union workers. HA! One of the finest things I did all day." he chuckled. "My business just gets better and better every day."

Rapunzel sees him through the window. "Alfred, should we put the amulet on him now?"

"Yes, but keep quiet." Alfred answered. "We can't let them know we're here because a simple yell can mean mission failure."

The princess gives Pascal the amulet as she said to him, "Pascal, you're best at keeping quiet and turning invisible when we played hide and seek. So it'd be best if you put the amulet on him."

Pascal nodded in response.

Two minutes later, McCopper has fallen asleep in his chair as Pascal is seen inside, and stretches his tongue carrying the amulet towards Scrooge.

"No, I don't believe in loans, they just take away money." McCopper mumbled in his sleep as Pascal slowly manages to slip the amulet onto his neck. The chameleon heads for the exit, but trips on the man's staff that was lying on the floor and let out a loud squeak.

McCopper wakes up from the noise. "WHAT WAS THAT?!" he yelled.

Pascal quickly hides behind the counter and changes his skin color to blend in, hiding from plain sight.

Scrooge looks around to see nothing as the amulet disappears and turns invisible. "Hmmph! Humbug!" He slowly gets up and stretches. "I need a drink." He walks out of his bedroom and when he is gone, Pascal gets out of hiding, sneaks out of a slightly open window and goes outside.

Scrooge goes into the kitchen, gets a drink of warm milk and leaves.

"Perfect timing because it's now 9:00." Alfred said after Pascal returns to Rapunzel's shoulder. "The amulet is about to work Those Weasley ghosts will be here any minute. We'll have to watch the whole thing and see if it goes smoothly."

"Good point." Rapunzel said.

McCopper was on his chair on the verge of sleeping after finishing his milk. "I could've sworn I heard something in the living room. Oh, it was probably just a tiny scream for help again. BAH! Like it shall help. There'll be no one to help whoever made that slight noise. Now to get some shut eye-" Just when he was about to fall asleep, a bell chime was heard on a clock. "WHAT THE?! Oh, whew! It was just the clock. I thought someone naughty was gonna come up and snap my neck, or something..."

He suddenly gets puzzled by the spooky vibe around him, and he looks around for a bit with a lit candle. He goes downstairs and hears the sounds of chains rustling. "What was that sound?" He looks around and sees nothing. He shrugs as he tries to go back to bed and then the sound is heard again. "ALRIGHT, WHO'S SCREWING AROUND WITH ME?!" He shrugs. "You'd better leave. I have a shotgun!" Suddenly, the doorbell rings again on its own, much to the man's shock. He chuckles. "Okay, that's probably just the wind."

"SCROOGE MCCOPPER!" A voice called.

"And apparently, it knows my name!" Once the doorbell stops ringing, the fire on his candle blows out on its own, causing him to gulp in fear. "Okay, whoever's doing that, CUT IT OUT! I'll call the authorities if this continues!" Nothing was heard. "Hmph! Just as I suspected, hooligans." He returns to his chair. "Can't they learn for once that I am just an old person? Lousy trespassers thinking it's funny to make me think that I'm being haunted by-" Suddenly, the bell begins ringing again on its own, much to Scrooge's shock. Once the ringing stops, the fire and the candlelight begins dimming out until it's gone. "What's going on here. This is some kind of elaborate prank devised by a pranking show? I'll sue their company owner to cancel them out of existence!" The scary vide wears off and the old man scoffs. "Of course, it's the side effects of my anti-depressants medication."

"OH NO, IT'S NOT!" Suddenly, two ghosts appear from through the wall, and they are both the same as the men on McCopper's portrait at the buiding, only their heads are tied up with cloths, and over a dozen chains are attached to them with money boxes. The two laugh crazily.

"GHOSTS!" McCopper screams like a girl as he hides under his chair.

"What's with him?" one of the men asked.

"Maybe it's those 'medications' he mentioned." the other answered.

"I don't think it's the medications." They both laugh like crazy.

"Alan? Drakey? Is that you?" Scrooge asked as he got a closer look at them.

"Well, who did you expect?" Alan answered.

"As if they weren't dead enough many times before." Drakey said and they both laugh.

"What are you guys doing here and... why do you look so horrible?" McCopper asked as Rapunzel, Eugene, Pascal and Alfred watch the whole thing from out the window.

"That's precisely what we're here to tell you, Scrooge." Alan answered. "We're here to bring you a word of warning about what you're doing." Then they break into song.

Both:_ We're Weasley and Weasley. Avarice and greed._

Alan: _We took advantage of the poor. Just ignored the needy._

Both:_ We specialized in causing pain, spreading fear and doubt._

Drakey: _And if you could not pay the rent, we simply threw you out. There was the year we evicted the entire orphanage!_

Alan: _I remember the little tykes all standing in the snow bank._

Drake: _With their little frostbitten teddy bears!_ Both laughed, but then their money boxes roared at them, causing the two to shudder.

Both:_ We're Weasley and Weasley. Our hearts were painted black._

Alan: _We should have known our evil deeds would put us both in shackles_

Both: _Captive, bound, we're double-ironed, exhausted by the weight_

Alan: _As freedom comes from giving love_

Drakey: _So, prison comes with hate_

Both: _We're Weasley and Weasley._ _Whoooooo!_ _We're Weasley and Weasley. Whoooooo!_

"But my friends, you were not unfeeling towards Christmas time. You know how much it threatens the company we built together." McCopper spoke up.

"You're right, there was this one thing about Christmas Alan and I liked." Drakey said.

"And that was getting filthy stinky rich of course!" Alan declared. They both laughed, but the money boxes growled at them. "Oops, sorry. Let's just get to the point!

"Point? What point?" McCopper asked.

Both: _Doomed, Scrooge! You're doomed for all time!_

Drakey: _Your future is a horror story, written by your crime_

Both: _Your chains are forged by what you say and do._

Money boxes: _So, have your fun; when life is done, a nightmare waits for you._

McCopper becomes frightened when chains wrap around him. "My God, what are these dreadful, monstrous chains?" he asked.

"Oooooh, the chains." Drakey moaned. "I hate them so much!"

"McCopper, do you remember how we died?" Alan asked.

"You were touched by a homeless poison dart frog?" McCopper answered.

"And remember EXACTLY what we did to him?" Drakey answered.

"Yeah. You stole some birthday money from him claiming that 'it will show that his parents will know not to steal money from a toy company'? You took their home and claimed it as a toy factory too. It really had me rolling on the floor."

"Well, he had a good reason to kill us!" Alan lectured. "We were WRONG! We forged these heavy chains in life by our sins, hatred for Christmas and acts of greed! And so as punishment, we must carry them FOR ETERNITY!"

"If I recall correctly, you'll wear such a massive chain yourself right now for what you did to your nephew." Drakey declared. "You even made it GROW by casting that curse of yours on the king, queen and citizens of the kingdom of Corona who have done nothing to you in your entire life!"

"There's no hope for us anymore! We are unable to remove these chains literally! They magically bonded them to us. We're DOOMED! DOOMED, I TELL YOU!"

"And the same thing will happen to YOU, Scrooge McCopper!"

"Only, they'll be worse. MUCH worse!"

"No! NO! IT CAN'T! IT JUST CAN'T!" McCopper protested.

"You know, it may be too late for us, but it's not too late for you to undo what you did to the only family member who showed ANY sympathy for you." Drakey said. "We have come to warn you that you still have one chance of escaping your hatred of Christmas, the monster you turned yourself into, and save you from suffering our fate when death awaits!" One of the money boxes on their chains pops a clock out. "Oh, poop-sticks! The chains are pulling us back!"

"No! NO, YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME! YOU MUST TELL ME WHAT I HAVE TO DO! DON'T LEAVE ME TO BE LIKE YOU!"

"Before you finish your blind ambitions to destroy Christmas forever, you will be haunted by three spirits!" Alan declared.

"Haunted?!" Scrooge shouted. "Haven't I had enough of that for once?!"

"Without these visits, you can never hope to make amends to everyone for just trying to get rid of a holiday everyone loves, and escape the path we tread!"

"Expect the first ghost tomorrow night at 10:00 PM!" Drakey lectured.

"Can't I just meet them all at once and get it over with?" McCopper asked.

"It doesn't work like that! Spirits need prep time too, you know!" Alan said. "Be ready for hell at 10:00 PM tomorrow night!"

"We don't have much time left!" Drakey warned. "These are our final words of warning to you. So listen to the spirits! Do what they say! Make amends to your nephew or your chains will be heavier and longer than ours!" This caused McCopper to gulp in fear. Then the two finished their song.

"_We're Weasley and Weasley._ _Whoooooo._ _We're Weasley and Weasley. Whoooooo._ _Change!_"

"I can't let this happen! I need to ghost-proof this place!" Scrooge panicked and then used his magical staff to cast a ghost-proof magic shield around the entire manor. "There! This shield is at level 69. No ghost will be able to get through. I am looking forward to a rather peaceful experience. Though , it doesn't seem to make me feel any safer. Oh, calm yourself, McCopper! You'll probably get over it by tomorrow!" He falls asleep in his bed as this was all seen by Rapunzel, Eugene, Pascal and Alfred.

"Uh... is he supposed to put up an impenetrable shield around his house to protect himself from ghosts?" Rapunzel asked.

Alfred clicks his tongue. "He actually thinks a magic shield can protect himself from Level 995 spirits. He has no idea that spirits that have been around for centuries have a very large magic level. Even the shields will not protect him."

"Well, that's good." Eugene said. "He should be in for a surprise."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Rapunzel spoke up. "Let's get to the North Pole." They all get in the sleigh.

"Alright, reindeer, we're off!" Alfred commanded the reindeer and they took off into the night.

* * *

**Well, our heroes were lucky to have gotten the amulet on McCopper. And man, is he gonna get it when he finds out that the spirits cannot be restrained. Nobody will be able to see or touch the amulet for the remainder of the next day, not even with magic. It will become visible and touchable again when the job is done.**

**The song that Alan and Drakey Weasley sang is a parody to "Marley and Marley" from Disney's "The Muppet Christmas Carol".**

**Thanks for reading this chapter and be sure to review! See you later!**


	8. The Ghost of Christmas Past

It is now December 23rd. Scrooge arrives at Copper and Weasley Toys HQ and enters the building with a severely tired face as employees looked at him with anger that turns into concerned notice.

"Hey, Cheapskate," James called out. "What's the matter? The money in the mattress wasn't good to you last night?"

"Yes, sir, you look like you've been through a major trauma." John agreed. "Are you... okay?"

"I... uh... of course, it's just that... I think I may've... seen things last night." McCopper replied. "I might've had a half-sleep dream."

"You mean being awake and asleep at the same time?" James asked. "Is that even possible?"

"What makes you think that?" John asked.

"I don't think I should tell them. It'll probably make me a mockery, and I've had enough of that yesterday." McCopper thought before he spoke, "All I can say is that it was a seriously bizarre dream, and leave it at that. Anyway, resume your work." He leaves.

"Who wants to bet it could be a sign he's gonna kick the bucket soon?" James whispered to John.

"Wha- James! That's an awful thing to think about!" John whispered back. "As seemingly unreasonable as he is, he's still a person. I'm sure he has someone who cares about him."

James sees McCopper go into his office, clearly seeing it's safe to talk openly. "Oh, you mean his nephew of his?"

"Aside from that."

James scoffed. "You actually think someone would give a fret about that old fart?"

"Yes! If a family was that cruel to him, they'd never be a family at all. That is to say, I sympathize with why he acts like this."

"How the hell can you be-"

"Because he had a father that thinks like he did. My father... was really on rough on Christmas."

"Let me get this straight. Your dad behaved like an old jerk?"

"Not all-year round! Just... on Christmas. Dad was strict on Christmas, not because of money, but because... well... he came from a Jewish side of the family."

"You're half-Jew?"

"My ancestors were one of the many who refused to give into Christianity. My great-grandfather, my grandmother and my father hated Christianity and therefore they hated Christmas. They believed that the religion had threatened their sense of freedom, and because people loved it so much, they wanted to force it on everyone else whether they wanted to or not."

"Then why did YOU go into Christianity?"

"Because I didn't believe my father's delusions about its backlash against his people. I knew that people have changed since that time, and know well that people should have rights to religion. I knew that it wouldn't really hurt to believe in a small portion of the religion. But when my father tried to force me to forget about Christmas, he had a heart attack and died."

James breathes in. "Ooohh!"

"As you know, Christmas is about family. It was tragic that my father had died 10 days before Christmas, and I buried the poor soul myself. I soon got married, and now have one daughter and two sons, one of them I am currently having troubles with health issues."

"You mean Teeny Tom?"

"Yes. You see, he's been diagnosed with polio, a rare paralyzing virus that has rendered him unable to walk without a crutch. The doctors say that I have until Christmas time to give him a vaccination but I do not have enough money to pay for it. If I don't get proper payment by then... who knows what will happen to him?"

"Wow, that's pretty tragic."

"Yes, it is. And I do not know if I will ever be able to get my pay to save him. Tom has been on my side for as long as I can remember. In fact, he's my youngest son. I promised him dearly that I would help him. Now that McCopper has been in deal with Darwin's chain of stores, I fear I won't be able to keep that promise."

"Oh, man! That is so sad!"

"So I'm pretty sure some people care about him, my friend. No words can harm Christmas."

"You know, you're right. Why am I even saying such harsh words about that poor guy? Does he ever have other people that care for him?"

In McCopper's office, Scrooge is looking at the portrait of him, Alan and Drakey.

"What if they were right? What if I do end up suffering their fate?" he sighed. "I have the chance to become the greatest businessman in town. But after what just happened last night...I'm starting to think."

Back at Santa's workshop, Rapunzel, Eugene and the elves are discussing their next plan.

"So, what now?" Eugene asked.

"Well, here's the tricky part." Alfred answered. "The three spirits are not like the ones you know in Charles Dickens's story. They have to obtain their own physical forms when doing their job, so the Amulet needs to feed off of three souls to grant them what they need. The souls will need to be removed from their bodies, so the bodies will be lifeless until further notice. There's also some guidelines. The souls have to be from those who are of matching personality. The first spirit needs the soul of someone who's nice, honest and trustworthy. The second needs the soul of someone who is wise, sympathetic and noble. And the trickiest part is the third one. That spirit requires a soul that is semi-dark, possessing half-light half-dark will."

"Well, if that's the case, how come those Weasley guys can have physical forms?" Rapunzel asked.

"They're not exactly Christmas spirits, as condemned spirits being used as a warning, a sort of thing that is used depending on who the person is. It's a lot of complicated spirit mumbo jumbo I'm not particularly good at. Usually, Grace is the one who does all that."

"Who'll we find that'll match those personalities?" the princess asked.

"Perhaps we can be of service." a voice came. Three familiar figures came towards them, revealing themselves to be Cassandra, Varian and Hook Hand Thug.

"Cassandra? Varian?! And thug with hook for a hand!" Rapunzel exclaimed with glee. "How did you three get here?"

"Long story short: we had a terrible vision about this curse going on two days ago." Cassandra answered. "So we figured Santa would hear about it and he and his reindeer recruited us to transfer our souls to the three spirits."

"Now that you three are here, come with me." Alfred stated. "You will need to go through... an untested experiment."

"WHAT?" Cassandra, Varian and Hook Hand Thug yelled in shock.

"Don't worry. Grace made sure the screws weren't too tight. Come with me to the lab."

The group follows the elves to the workshop's elf lab. Cassandra, Varian and Hook Hand Thug are seen sitting inside devices similar to the Link Units in the 2009 movie "Avatar".

"Okay, you guys." Grace said. "These soul-transferring units are very powerful, yet very unstable. They are able to transfer one's soul into another. And since we're only using three, we're gonna use a very special ruby to get your souls transferred to the spirits. You see, since we don't have the amulet with us, it'll be difficult to transfer your souls, so the only way to do it is to use the exact same kind of magical ruby that makes the amulet."

She takes out a large ruby, puts it in a cylindrical container, puts the container inside a large machine and hooks the cables for the units into the machine.

"Alfred said this wasn't fully tested?" Cassandra asked.

"It's true." Grace replied. "But I assure you, this will work. But what's difficult will be using the ruby's power to send your souls through the magical energy matrix and transferring it all the way to the Amulet. There is a 70% chance it will be successful."

"And... what happens if it doesn't work?" Hook Hand Thug asked.

"Who knows? Your souls might be shattered into magical dust. But you've got nothing to worry about. I've calculated the transferring process seven times. If I do this right, it'll surely work."

"I hope so." Varian said. "And I hope you know what you're doing."

"Of course I do. I'm an elf. Elves are one of the most intelligent creatures on Earth besides humans. Now get ready, the process is about to begin." The three strap themselves into the units, and the units close them inside." Alright, initiating soul transfer in three, two, one." She presses a button and it zaps the three and energy is seen pulling on their chests. Their souls, seen as small cyan-blue orbs, are sucked through the three tubes into the machine where they blend through the ruby inside.

"Operation complete." the machine voiced. "Soul Transfer is successful." Everyone sighs in relief.

"Thank goodness it worked!" Grace said.

"Yeah, I'm starting to regret wanting to be in something like THIS!" The three souls are seen going through a red energy tunnel. Then they are obtained by three dark patches of darkness, which make them turn cyan blue, and they start shape-shifting.

"This seems to be a nice form." a soft voiced cooed.

"Indeed. Not what I was expecting, but it's better than nothing." a jolly voiced said.

"I'm now wearing a black robe." a dark brooding voice rumbled.

"Well, this will certainly be a Christmas nobody's gonna forget." Eugene commented.

Later that evening, McCopper is getting ready for bed. "Spirits, BAH! Humbug!" he grumbled. "I should've known better to be fooled by such Christmas elves!" He blows out his candle and goes to sleep.

Rapunzel, Eugene, Pascal, Grace, Dougie, Teddy, Alfred (who was staring attractively at Grace) and Santa are watching McCopper through the Snowveillance Globe.

"Well, it's almost 10:00 PM and therefore, it's almost time for the first spirit to come into the picture." Grace announced. "We'll see all that goes through in the Snowveillance Globe. All questions you two have about him will be answered."

"I hope our three friends' souls will be okay during these visits." Eugene said.

"The spirits will return the souls they have back to their original owners when they have completed their jobs. When this spirit is done, she will return Cassandra's soul back to her." She notices Alfred, but Alfred focuses away from her just in time before she can notice. "Alfred, are you okay?"

"Nothing, I'm fine." Alfred answered.

"Grace, I think Alfred has something to tell-" Dougie started before Alfred cuts him off by smacking him to the ground. "OW! HEY!"

"Well, if you're sure, then okay." Grace said before continued to work.

"Okay, Alfred, come clean, what is it about her?" Dougie whispered. "Do you like her, or something?"

"That's none of your business!" Alfred whisper-shouted. "Now keep your nose out of it before I rip it off and sew it back on... upside down!"

Dougie grins obviously.

"Fine, I'll tell you later." Alfred sighed. "Now, get out of my business, okay?!"

"Okay then."

"Sheesh!" Alfred couldn't help but stare at Grace again, as her bright green eyes and long blonde hair gleam in white magic and he sighs in joy at the pretty sight of the female elf.

"What's eaten him?" Teddy asked Dougie.

"I'll tell you later." Dougie answered. The clock strikes 10.

"Well, it's 10:00." Rapunzel announced."Let the story begin, everyone."

"I hope Cassandra's soul survives this." Eugene said with worry. "Our souls are unstable."

At McCopper's mansion, the clock strikes 10 and a bright yellow light was seen appearing from behind the curtains of McCopper's bed.

"What the heck?" Scrooge wondered as he looks through the curtains to find that the light is coming from a glowing orb of yellow light. The orb shape-shifts into the figure of Cassandra. Her hair is candle fire. Scrooge shrieks at the sight of the figure.

"Well, hello there, Mr. McCopper." she said in a soft voice. "We haven't got all night, you know."

"Who the hell are you?" McCopper asked.

"Uh, isn't it obvious? I'm the first ghost that was sent to visit you. I am the Ghost of Christmas Past.

McCopper sighs. "Well, phenomenal! I'm screwed."

"Hey, we're not here to scare the Dickens out of you, McCopper. We're here because you need to learn about Christmas means to you and the people around you."

"If you're gonna insist on slowing my progress of this curse down, then you need to leave. I've got a business to run."

"You weren't always obsessed with running the best business."

"Oh, come on. You don't know me!

"I know everything about you, pal."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?"

"You're allergic to dandelions, you had a vasectomy 7 years ago, and you didn't give up your blankee until you were 18."

"AREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE BLOCKED OFF BY MY SHIELD?!"

"You do realize that me and the other spirits have been around for centuries, right? That means we've got levels that are above what your silly shield can block off. I'm at level 995."

McCopper lands head-first into his pillow and screams into his pillow, muffling the screams.

"Okay, enough stalling me. I've got a job to do. You're gonna have to come with me, and we shall visit your past."

"My past? You can travel through time?"

"Well, I wouldn't call it time travel, per say. I prefer to call it...uh...actually, I don't have anything to call it. But whatever it is, it and time travel are completely different things."

"Just go. I don't have time to talk with dead people."

"McCopper, this is important. We can show just what an impact you make in life. Plus, remember what your dear partners warned you about."

McCopper sighs. "Very well, but it better be worth it."

"Great. I knew you'd come around. Just grab onto my hand." McCopper grabs it with his hand and they suddenly fly out the window.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Scrooge screamed.

"Calm down, drama tycoon. We're getting there." the spirit said. Just hold on tight." They travel through the sky. Soon they land somewhere. "This is your hometown, 23 years in the past."

"23?" McCopper asked. "How old was I at that time?"

"You were only 18. You had just gotten out of school and you were ready to search for a job. Of course, as you had known, your parents and other family members pretty much already decided your destiny. Look!" She points to a younger McCopper and his brother together.

"Is that... me and my brother?"

"Yes, it's the both of you 23 years younger. And this is the exact day that your troubles in life began."

"Finally, brother!" the past McCopper exclaimed joyfully. "We shall finally become men. We'll be free to pick our own destinies and futures. I have big plans."

"Scrooge, there's something that mom and dad wanted me to tell you." his past brother started before being interrupted.

"I can already see myself being the ambassador for whoever runs this town! I'll open up trade deals with outside worlds. I'll hold annual feasts for the nobility, and lucky common folk that get special invitations. I'll be remembered as one of the greatest bureaucrats that ever-"

The past brother signaled past McCopper to stop talking respectfully. "Brother, please believe me. I respect your ambitions for your own future, and if it were up to me, I'll let you choose your own path, even if I'm the second born, but... our parents-

"Oh, of course! They wanted us to send us a farewell party? I'll be sure to promise them NOT to disappoint."

The present McCopper gasps. "I know this moment!"

"Uh... yes, Scrooge, it's a...it's a farewell party." The past brother nervously said. "Our parents wish to throw us a celebration into our rise into adulthood."

"Well, why didn't you just say so?" The past McCopper said. "Of course I'll visit the folks one last time before I go to the grand future."

"NO! HE'S LYING! PAST ME, DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! IT'S NOT A FAREWELL PARTY! IT'S A-" McCopper shouted. He tries to touch his past self, but he ghosts right through them. "What the-?! No! DON'T GO! DON'T GOOO!" The brothers walked away. "PLEASE, DON'T! What's going on here, spirit?!"

"Hey, pal, I didn't say this was a time travel mission. I said this was a visit to your past!" The Cassandra spirit declared. "Nobody can see or feel you."

"Why did that poor excuse of a brother have to lie to me like that?" McCopper asked as he watches his past self leave.

"I'm sure you know. He didn't want you to be disappointed. He wanted to let you face your parents about this yourself."

"AND YET, HE LEAD ME INTO A MISUNDERSTANDING?! Oh, God, I can see it now, I'll be...wait, why are we in a different location?" They have magically been sent to a different location.

"This is where your 'farewell party' is taking place. And by a farewell party, I mean an ascension to the destiny you were chosen to go through by your parents. This is where the origins of your scroogy self gets sparked. It will take several more weeks for it to ignite and consume your life."

"Oh, crud!" They watch as Past McCopper and his brother go inside the house, and they find that there is an initiation ceremony taking place.

"WELL, HELLO EVERYONE! I want to thank you for letting me choose my own destiny. I-" Past McCopper started before realizing something. "Wait a minute."

"Wait a minute, son, who told you we were going to let you choose your own destiny?" his mother spoke up.

"He did." Past McCopper answered as he pointed at his brother.

"Bob, really?" the father asked.

"Sorry, he was just-" Bob started to say.

"YOU LIED TO ME?!" Past McCopper shouted.

"ISN'T IT OBVIOUS?!" McCopper asked. "I swear, why did I even believe him?!"

"Son, you know very well that our family tradition as shoe shiners is a solemn duty for everyone to follow, including you." Past McCopper's mother chastised him.

"But, Mom-" Past McCopper started to protest.

"No buts! You're more fit being a food seller than whatever lousy dream you want to follow. You have to do what's best for our legacy, and your family."

Now Past McCopper is ticked off. "For the last time, I DO NOT WANT TO BE A SHOE SHINER!"

"You are not doing anything else out there so you can make a fool out of yourself, son!" his father scolded. "Our legacy must be preserved, and we are counting on you and your brother to keep it alive."

"That's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair, son. You have to deal with it sometimes."

"Is it really worth having two shoe shiners do all this lousy crap for you? Isn't one enough?"

"Maybe, but it's against what our tradition stands for." his mother answered. "We need to have as much legacy as we can get. So you're becoming a shoe shiner and that's final. I don't want a word out of you. I can't risk having you make the biggest mistake of your life. We want you to become like us for your own good. We want you to become like us because we love you!"

"You want me to become like you because you're too overprotective!" His parents look at him angrily, causing him to shrink back. "Sorry."

"I don't ever want you doing work outside of our legacy, is that understood?" His father scolded.

"Yes." Past McCopper said reluctantly.

"Good. Now come home at once. You'll need enough strength for your first day of learning tomorrow."

Past McCopper mocks him behind his back.

McCopper saw everything. "And THAT'S precisely why I left them a long time ago. They thought they could control my life like I was a slave."

"They may've been wrong, but all you had to do was to just stand up to them." Cassandra's spirit said. "They would've understood you more if you just talked to them about it."

"THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I DID!"

"No, you didn't. You didn't do it at all. When you did do it, it was in the most wrong and insulting way a son could ever treat his parents."

They are magically teleported to another place. "Now what?" McCopper asked with a shrug.

"Now we are in a different time and location. We are now one week after you made the mistake that changed your life. All starting on a Friday morning and two weeks after a winter feast."

"Friday? Isn't that the exact same day that I..." He sees himself and two familiar men inside a business building.

"So tell us again why you came to us?" Drakey asked.

"Because I am tired of having my life lived for me." Past McCopper answered. "I should be free to choose my destiny instead of follow some dumb tradition. If I'm gonna get what I deserve, I'd better do it fast. That's why I want start up my own business by buying myself a position as your business partner."

"Well, you came to us just in time, my boy." Alan said. "Transitional transactions are in our favor."

"Well, that's good. I'm through with being told what to do. My parents have enough legacy with my brother. Anyway, what are the terms of this contract?"

"Well, it's quite simple, really."

"Simpler than making pie." Drakey said.

"Simpler than splattering a pie in your face." Alan said and the two laugh crazily.

"That's nice, but aren't we going to-" Past McCopper chuckled as he started.

"Of course we are! This very contract will free you from unfair family obligations-"

"AND TOTALLY EARN YOU A LIFE OF BUSINESS, BRO!"

"I was getting to that, you idiot."

"Sorry."

"Anywho, just sign the dotted lines, and a life of business and freedom will be yours."

"At last! I won't have to worry about being bossed around anymore. I am so glad I found you two. So long tradition, hello freedom!" Past McCopper exclaimed excitedly, unaware that Bob is watching him.

"Hmm, maybe a little magic will stop my brother from doing this!" McCopper exclaimed as he magically tries erasing his past brother's memories with his staff.

"Oh, no! Mother and father aren't gonna like this." He runs off as McCopper does it again after surprise.

"That's no good, McCopper." Cassandra's spirit said. "Even your strongest magic won't affect him. These are shadows of the past. You can't alter shadows, remember?"

McCopper cursed under his breath before speaking, "I always hated my brother. But at least I finally made my dream come true."

"But at what cost?" They are magically sent to Past McCopper's room, and they see Past McCopper, Bob and their parents.

"BOB, YOU SNITCH!" Past McCopper screamed at his brother. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!"

"Brother, I was doing what father asked, I-"

"Don't you dare give him crap, mister!" Past McCopper's mother scolded. "He did the right thing by telling us!"

"THE RIGHT THING?!" Past McCopper shouted. "I've never heard such wrong things in my life-"

His father cuts him off by smacking him. "DON'T YOU TALK TO YOUR PARENTS LIKE THAT! When we expect you to follow our legacy, WE EXPECT THAT LEGACY TO BE FOLLOWED, NO QUESTIONS ASKED! And you deliberately disobeyed us!"

"THIS IS NOT FAIR! YOU CAN'T CONTROL MY LIFE!"

"We are trying to protect you, son!" his mother shouted back.

"BY CONTROLLING MY DESTINY?! I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR STUPID TRADITION! SHOE SHINING IS NOTHING BUT A WASTE OF TIME! I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO-" His father interrupts him by smacking him to a wall.

"You will not talk that way about our family tradition, son!" he scolded. "From now on, you aren't going anywhere without an escort. You're not meant to do anything else except shining shoes! The world is just-"

"WHAT?! NOT MEANT FOR ME?! I'M SICK TO DEATH OF YOU-"

"YOU DO NOT INTERRUPT ME, MISTER!" McCopper watches horrified as the fight continues while Cassandra's spirit shows no emotion. "NO MATTER WHAT YOU THINK, YOU ARE NOT-"

"SHUT UP!" Past McCopper screamed as he smacks his own father to the wall, and everyone is shocked.

"Scrooge, what did you just do?!" Bob asked with a shocked tone.

"Don't you EVER speak to me again, you tattling excuse of a brother! You are more than enough capable to carry out this worthless legacy that my old man and woman want so desperately. I don't ever want to speak to you again as long as I live. In fact, I don't want to speak to any of YOU TWO AGAIN! YOU MAKE YOURSELVES A DISGRACE TO YOURSELVES, AND YOU DISHONORED YOUR JOBS AS TRUE PARENTS FOR FORCING THIS TRADITION ON ME LIKE AN ANVIL TO THE HEAD! That shows me that you two have NO SYPMATHY FOR ME AT ALL! All I ever wanted was my own legacy. MY own destiny. But do I get that? NO! You all act like cowardly twats because you're afraid of change. Maybe some of us DON'T want to be shoe shiners. I don't want that. I never wanted that!" He begins to sob softly. "Just because I was born from shoe shiners, it doesn't mean I'll actually BECOME ONE! DON'T YOU GET IT?! DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW?!" His family is now teary-eyed. "Alan and Drakey offered me a new life. A better life, AWAY FROM YOU! Now if you'll excuse me, I've got more important things to do than to be your slave!" He storms off.

"Brother, please!" Bob pleaded. "I'm sorry for telling them! Let's just talk about this and make up over this, and we can forget we ever had this conversation. By all means, go ahead and pursue what makes you happy! Please! I...I don't want to lose you."

Past McCopper turns around angrily, grabs Bob and nearly chokes him. "You! Just! DID!" He punches him to the wall, causing his lip to bleed. "Because you're still my brother, I will not hurt you even more. I'm not a murderer. I am just a betrayed soul who didn't want to be enslaved."

"I see that now... I was always more understanding that, you only wanted to pursue your own destiny... I swear our clan is forever forbidden to interfere with your life ever again... Even, if you wanted us to."

"Then that's good. I NEVER WANT YOU FANATICS BACK IN MY LIFE EVER AGAIN!" He storms out of the room as Bob cried as tears touched his wound.

McCopper sees the reaction of his parents and brother and how brutal his attack on his brother was. He looks shocked as they are seen crying in each other's embraces. "Oh my gosh! What was I thinking with those words? AND WHY DID I DO THAT TO BOB?! I didn't mean to be that brutal. I was just upset, and... Oh, what do I care? They deserved what they gotten."

"No, they didn't!" Cassandra's spirit reprimanded. "If you had just asserted yourself in a different and non-cruel way, you wouldn't have had a family that doesn't care about you. And this proves it!" The locations change magically. "Look at you now! Your 25th birthday!" McCopper sees himself alone in a party room. "Your actions that very day have made you more of a disgrace to your family than they did. Not only were their reputations mostly destroyed, but now your brother is the only one left who keeps it alive. And even HE knows that what you said that day is wrong. So why should they show up to your birthday after all the pain you left them in?"

"Because... they're my family."

"Now, what was your last response to that?" She repeats one of his lines in his voice, "DO NOT REMIND ME OF FAMILY! Family means nothing to me anymore."

"YAH!" McCopper shrieked.

"That's what you said to your very employees. That proves that you don't deserve to have your family show up to your birthdays. A person neglected by his own family for the right reasons, yet in the wrong way. Even a family of your own wasn't even possible five years later." She magically changes the location to a different building.

"Wait... I recognize this. YES! This is when my company celebrated its fifth anniversary!"

"Figured that on your own, did you?"

"Well, duh, you said five years later, that sort of gave it away. Besides, this was one of the company's happiest moments of all. I remember how great the celebration was." He looks inside and sees a party unfold as a nice-looking businessman is seen. "It's... It's John Ryder! The nicest and jolliest businessman ever! He was the life of the party with his gifts."

"HEY, HEY, HEY!" John Ryder greeted. "I'm no Santa Claus, but here's gifts from the stores of the store chain!"

"I remember those stores." McCopper sighed. "They were great in business, but even greater around the holidays. I still can't believe that Darwin Weasley obviously bought the business."

"He was responsible for Mr. Ryder's downfall." Cassandra's spirit said.

"Darwin did that? No, no, NO! I don't believe you!"

"Really? I'm surprised you didn't recognize him as the former vice president of the store chain."

"You mean that spoiled brat he was with? THAT was Darwin? No, they don't even look or sound alike."

"He was younger back then, genius! Obviously, things changed for him."

"Could you excuse me for a moment?" 12 seconds later, McCopper is banging his head on a glass window, but because he is only viewing the world, it won't break. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! I am such a retard! How could I let that nasty piece of fur to offer a deal with me after how he betrayed one of my greatest friends?!"

"Hey, take it easy, McCopper!" Cassandra approached him. "You didn't know. But what you did know back then was that you might've had the chance to forget about your family problems. Look at yourself over there in the corner." McCopper sees his past self sitting sadly in the corner looking at a picture of his family. "Even after five years of successful business, you still knew how much family meant. Therefore, you still knew what Christmas meant. And there you were, finally seeing the error of your ways. Your parents may've been wrong about controlling your destiny, but they were certainly right for one thing. You DID make a fool of yourself."

"Wait a minute! Is that who I think it is?" He looks at a woman.

"Who? Oh, you mean that gorgeous female? That's..."

"Paige Sanford, the prettiest business owner at that time. I knew her parents before they died of pneumonia. Since then, she started a life as the owner of another local toy company."

They watch as Paige notices Past McCopper. "Uh, Scrooge? Are you okay?" she asked. "Aren't you happy that your business has been running for five years?"

"Well, yes, but... it's the Winter Feast now, and...and I don't have a family to celebrate it with." Past McCopper answers. "I mean, I abandoned my parents five years ago, and... I said some pretty nasty things about-"

"I know. Your partners told me about those tragic times. But... you know...that won't stop us from having a family of our own."

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, handsome! I saw you staring at me a while ago! I know you have the hots for me."

"You...you know?"

"Of course, we've been friends for a while. But now that we're together, and standing right under the mistletoe, I say it's time we-"

"Okay, okay, no need to get carried away."

McCopper scoffs as he watches this. "She was drinking too much wine, so I couldn't really blame her."

"Sorry about that." Paige said and then hiccuped. "Let's just dance."

McCopper watches as Paige kisses his past self at the end of the music and sighs in joy. "I just can't seem to forget how much I was in love with her."

"But it didn't last forever, huh?" Spirit Cassandra asked.

"I would wish to say otherwise, but..." The scenery changes again.

"Believe me. I already know. Because in four years time, you learned to love something else. You see, as your business got bigger, so has your greed. Your discovery on making good riches lead you to intending to make the company the best, just like you are today. Observe."

McCopper sees his past self count money. "9,588...9,589..."

Paige comes inside as McCopper continues counting. "Uh, Scrooge? Can we talk for a moment?"

"Yes? What is it?"

"For years, I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for you to keep your promise to marry me. Now I must know... have your made your decision yet?"

"Oh, I certainly have!" Paige is surprised and delighted. "Your last payment on the cottage of our wedding was an hour late, so..." He brings out a mortgage paper stating 'Foreclosed'. "I'm foreclosing the mortgage!"

Paige gasped. "What?"

"Paige, you must understand that I didn't do it for myself willingly. Those blasted banks provoked me by putting a mortgage debt on it. Even so, they threatened to take it away, along with all my money and my company and yours too if I didn't just give up that thing. You need to understand that I can't give up my plans to have the best business ever if I allowed the banks to bully me over a cottage. Besides, we're practically millionaires, so we can just get ourselves a mansion, or a house boat at sea. So much more sophisticated than a stupid cottage."

"Stupid cottage? THAT STUPID COTTAGE WAS GONNA BE OUR FUTURE! How could you give up our future like that?!"

"Well, firstly, I contacted the bank, I had to go there to sign a few papers and- Wait, were you being rhetorical?" Paige starts sobbing. "Paige, please, it's not entirely my fault, it's the demanding abuse of the banks! They're notorious for punishing those who can't pay debts, you know."

"Exactly! How else was I gonna do it!" McCopper stated. Cassandra's spirit looks at him sternly. "What?"

"Hello? You're the owner of a million-dollar company." she reminded him. "Why not just PAY THE MORTGAGE YOURSELF?! You actually had the money to satisfy those 'abusive' banks to give them to lay off of you, but all you did was foreclose a honeymoon cottage to pay it off instead. You learned to love your own riches more than that beautiful lady, and after that one fatal mistake, you lost her forever!"

Paige looks behind at Past McCopper. "I guess you don't care for me anymore. In that case, you don't have to worry about where the wedding will take place anymore because I'm just cancelling it anyway. WE ARE FINISHED!" She slams the door shut as she cries her eyes out, scattering Past McCopper's money everywhere."

"Crap!" Past McCopper sighs. "I didn't mean it that way, I... What have I done?"

McCopper begins to sob softly. "Paige! I loved her. How could I let myself be blinded by my own money? could've had more of a family if I hadn't-" He sighs sadly. "Spirit, please take me home! I can no longer bare these memories, and I need some time alone."

"Very well." The female spirit said. "Just remember that you fashioned these memories all by yourself."

McCopper is instantly transported back to his bed as the spirit has vanished. He takes a deep breath and falls straight on his back. "Why was I so foolish? Why couldn't I have been a better person instead of let my growing pain go against me? Why, WHY?!"

In the diagnostics room at Santa's workshop, Rapunzel watched everything from the Snowveillance Globe. Rapunzel is sobbing as Eugene holds her close to him and Pascal feels bad as his skin turns blue.

"Well, that was a pretty sad story for him." Eugene said.

"Indeed. I had no idea his parents held so tightly to tradition." Santa said. "They were blinded by what he truly wanted in his life. He didn't have to snap like that."

"And how he just foreclosed the mortgage on his old girlfriend's wedding cottage just to pay a debt like that?" Teddy said. "That was just mean."

"Yeah, I would NEVER treat my girlfriend like that." Alfred said as Dougie looked at him with an obvious grin. "Not that I know what it feels like anyway."

Grace appears with a dizzy Cassandra. "Guys, the spirit returned Cassandra's soul, so now he's awake."

"Yes, I saw everything through the spirit's eyes." Cassandra said. "I'm sure the other two will see the same things through."

"Now, we'll only have two hours until the next spirit comes. And the curse is 56% completed. If my calculations are correct, then it might reach 100% by 9:00 AM tomorrow. By then, we'll have no choice but to cancel our deliveries." Grace announced. "But I feel that even after what McCopper just saw, he's still gonna go through with this curse. It'll take the visiting of all the spirits to make him come to his senses. Santa, the curse readings are still going too strong. In fact, they're getting even stronger."

"But I thought McCopper would lighten up." Rapunzel said.

"I'm afraid reminding him of his past not only saddened him, but it only motivated him to be worse." Santa said.

"How the heck is that even possible?!" Eugene asked with aggravation. The Snowglobe shows McCopper increasing the curse's power with his staff.

"YOU THOUGHT I WAS BAD BEFORE, SPIRITS?! WELL, YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHING YET!" They heard him shout. "YOU MADE IT MORE PERSONAL THAN IT NEEDED TO BE! I ONLY HATED CHRISTMAS BECAUSE OF MY OWN TROUBLES! FOR SPIRITS OF CHRISTMAS, YOU'RE DOING A VERY BAD JOB!"

"Well, we're screwed." Rapunzel said.

"Not quite, princess." Grace said. "This was expected from using the _Christmas Carol _tactic. Sometimes the scroogy just get a little bit upset at first. It's a normal process."

"But that normal process has made the curse more dangerous now." Eugene warned. "Not to mention it accelerated it."

"Okay, if McCopper wants to give us no choice but to work a little harder to make him see the error of ruining Christmas for the whole world thanks to his warlock powers, then so be it." Rapunzel declared. "He has now forced our hand and now we may have to take drastic measures so not even his own magic will stop it."

"But we can't be too hard about it." Eugene spoke up. "McCopper is obviously just a broken soul. Being rough about this would only make him hurt everyone more."

Rapunzel sighs. "You're probably right. But we still need to hit hard enough so he gets the message loud and clear."

* * *

**What a tragic past for Scrooge McCopper. Thank you for reading and be sure to review.**

**Cassandra and Varian are from the TV series "Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure", which ended at the beginning of this month. Also, I planned to upload this earlier, but lately, I've been stressed and concerned when I got the news about the coronavirus outbreak. I hope I don't catch it.**

**Anyway, see you in the next chapter!**


	9. The Ghost of Christmas Present

Rapunzel, Eugene and Pascal are watching Scrooge at McCopper Manor with Santa and the elves.

"The second spirit is about ready to arrive and show McCopper everything about his present." Grace said.

McCopper is resting in his bed again after getting exhausted by strengthening the curse. "Well, it's been almost two hours since my last visit. I think it's best if I got some rest." Suddenly, his clock struck midnight. "Huh? It's midnight already? Wow, I'd better get some sleep, pronto."

Suddenly, the lights in his room glow brighter than the arrival of the first ghost and when he opens the bed's curtains, he sees that the entire room is filled with Christmas dinner foods, and it is all being enjoyed by a figure of Varian who is wearing a wreath on his head, a dark green robe and green slippers. The boy magically levitates a torch that resembles a cornucopia. He laughs in a jolly tone.

"Oh, no! Here we go again!" McCopper exclaimed with worry.

"Well, hello there, McCopper. It's nice to finally meet you." Varian greeted the man. "I have to admit, your actions after the last ghost's visit have really been disappointing."

"Okay, who are you, the Ghost of Christmas Dinners?" Scrooge asked.

"No, the Ghost of Christmas Present. I have come to show you what your actions on this very day are currently having an impact on."

"Okay, so you've been sticking your nose in my life, too, have you?"

"Wow, you DO need some help. But, no, we ghosts don't do such inappropriate stuff. We know because… well… we're ghosts that represent the spirit of Christmas."

"Well, what's with all the goof you're stuffing in your face?"

"Oh, they're not for me. They're for everyone on Christmas. You might know that Christmas feasts play a big role in Christmas. All the food you see before you are of your liking."

"Really?" McCopper scoffs. "These are all foods that I have liked to eat before, huh?"

"Yeah. Your community has been more achene to pastires and other non-meat dishes. See for yourself."

McCopper sees the food and gasps at one of them. "Plump goose with chestnut dressing?!" He sees more. "Figgy pudding! Suckling pig! Candied yams! Spiced sugar cakes! And…" He gasps and sees yet another dish. "Oh, my dear favorite! EGG CUSTARD TARTS!" He grabs one and eats it. "MMMM! It's like a taste from the heavens!"

"Yes. I have been in many feasts, and I've even witnessed the ones that you were present in before you were the scroogy person you are today."

"But where did all this food come from and how did you make it?"

"Don't have to make it. These dishes were made by the heart of millions. This is the food of generosity which you have been denying your fellow employees for years."

"Generosity?" Scrooge scoffs. "That's a laugh. Nobody in my life has EVER showed me any generosity whatsoever. Not even my family."

"That's because you never gave them any reason to show you generosity. The last spirit showed you clear proof of that. You treated everyone you loved so badly, they don't want anything to do with you."

"Thanks for reminding me!"

"Don't fret. There are those who can find warmth and joy in the hearts of even the darkest of people. People like you."

"HAH! You don't know anything about the people I interact with. I assure you there's nobody in the world who have shown me ANY possible respect aside from my nephew."

"Oh, don't underestimate what I know, McCopper. And I should tell you that if I hadn't shown up at this very moment, you would've destroyed your relationship with you nephew."

"What?"

"Let me show you. I should warn you that you're about to see a sad fate that'll become a reality if you don't lighten up."

McCopper sees that he and the Varian spirit are now in a new location.

"Where are we?" Scrooge asked.

"We're at Christmas Eve." The Varian spirit replied.

"That's tomorrow, isn't it?"

"Well, technically, no. It's already Christmas Eve since it just turned midnight. But metaphorically speaking, yes. But I'm sure that here, you'll find that it's not like you had expected it to be with that curse. Behold!" He points out a building. As they look inside, they see a room where everyone is happier and the opposite of what the curse is doing.

"Spirit, why are those people acting like I never casted the curse?"

"This is an alternate reality. As you can see, the people have clearly resumed with their lives, unaware of what became of you. Already, even when only a day away, Christmas is a joy to all." Music starts playing.

"Wait, are you gonna sing, too?! I've already had enough of that from the Weasley! I'd rather not have that—"

"May I welcome you, to Christmas Eve!" Varian shouted and then started singing.

_It's in the singing of a street corner choir  
It's going home and getting warm by the fire  
It's true, wherever you find love  
It feels like Christmas_

The local citizens started singing too.

_A cup of kindness that we share with another  
A sweet reunion with a friend or a brother  
In all the places you find love  
It feels like Christmas_

Varian:_  
It is the season of the heart  
A special time of caring  
The ways of love made clear_

Varian and the citizens:_  
It is the season of the spirit  
The message, if we hear it  
Is make it last all year  
_

A family:_  
It's in the giving of a gift to another  
A pair of mittens that were made by your mother  
It's all the ways that we show love  
That feel like Christmas  
_

The townsfolk:_  
A part of childhood we'll always remember  
It is the summer of the soul in December  
Yes, when you do your best for love  
It feels like Christmas_

Varian and the citizens:_  
It is the season of the heart  
A special time of caring  
The ways of love made clear  
It is the season of the spirit  
The message, if we hear it  
Is make it last all year_

_It's in the singing of a street corner choir  
It's going home and getting warm by the fire  
It's true, wherever you find love  
It feels like Christmas  
It's true, wherever you find love  
It feels like Christmas  
It feels like Christmas  
It feels like Christmas_

"It's like I'm trapped in a bloody musical." Scrooge commented.

"Well, Christmas can do that sometimes. A lot of people act with a song in their heads." Varian spoke up. "Yes, it does tend to feel unnecessary and kinda out of nowhere, but Christmas is more than just a time of joy, so people aren't known to be judgemental on things like that. In fact, a lot of people express how they feel about something through singing."

"Well, I'm still not convinced. So what if my family doesn't come to me because of an oath? If there anyone else I don't know who cares about me?"

"Actually, there is." There are magically sent to an old house. The windows had small cracks, there were cobwebs all over the place, and it was basically filthy.

"Whose run-down old house is this?"

"This is the home of your beloved employee, John."

"Really? He can't even bother to fix this place up. It looks like something the cat dragged in!"

"Well, he can't do it without the proper payment of his job. Because you hardly pay him, he doesn't have enough money to properly fix the place, let alone get enough food to satisfy his wife, and three kids. This is what John's family currently goes through."

"Well, I hope they have good hygiene at that place."

"Oh, of course they do. The inside of the house, is quite the contrary to what you see now."

Scrooge is lead to the window and sees that the inside of the house was much cleaner than what it appears to be. "Well, how can they afford to keep the inside clean, but yet, the outside's a bloody mess?"

"John's wife has a father who's a cleaning-supplies tycoon."

"His wife is a FREAKING HEIRESS?! Then what is she doing living with a poor man like John?"

"Love tends to be funny like that. A rich heiress to a cleaning-supplies tycoon falling in love with a humble minimal-wage worker like John, is an example of that."

"Well, why doesn't she ask her father to prepare this place?"

"Because her father is dying of cancer."

"Ohhhh…"

"It gets more unpleasant. She only gets those cleaning supplies through a friend of hers who works for her father. But soon, Darwin Weasley plans to buy out the company from John's wife and leave her with nothing so he can stay enduringly supplied with cleaning products."

"Well, what's stopping her from becoming the new owner once her father passes on?"

"A lawsuit from Darwin for interfering with the store chain's business interests."

"WHAT?! THAT INSENSITIVE JACK! I'LL BANISH HIM TO THE UNDERWORLD FOR THIS!"

"Well, it's good that you're seeing how corrupt Darwin is in his business. But it gets worse for this family. Observe."

They witness John clanging the dinner plates, which are full of small dishes and very less food, and a boy and a girl arrive laughing and take their seats.

"Dinner's ready, kids." John said.

"I just can't believe how insensitive your boss is, John." His wife said. "Because of his new deal with that Darwin guy, I wasn't able to sue him, and now I've got a lawsuit that's threatening my position as future leader of my father's company."

"I know, but you can't blame him that much for being misunderstood." John replied. "You and I both know that he's had a bad past with his family. By the way, where's Teeny Tom?"

"Over here, father!" A small kid appears on a crutch. "I'm coming."

"Hey, kiddo!" his father greeted him with a hug. "How's the leg?"

"Still numb. Are you sure you'll be able to keep your promise of getting me that vaccination for Christmas?"

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to, Tom. Not with the budget I have. But I'm trying my hardest."

"THAT'S the son he was talking about a couple of times before?" McCopper asked.

"Yes. He's been diagnosed with polio, a rare paralyzing condition that can often result in death." Spirit Varian answered. "You see, John has been trying to tell you that needs the money for a vaccination to cure Tom of his polio before it becomes permanent, or worse."

"Wow. That must hurt."

"Well, not that much. Polio doesn't hurt that much. It just makes certain body parts numb. In Tom's case, one of his legs are numb and he can't walk until he is vaccinated.

"Holy frijoles!" Tom exclaimed in surprise as he sits at the table. "Look at all the wonderful things to eat! You know, we simply have to thank Mr. McCopper for at least being generous for the money he gave us."

"I know, son." John said. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, father!" The two hug.

"He actually cares about me?" McCopper asked with surprise and confusion. "After all that crap I gave his father?"

"Yes. He's a child with a heart so pure that even he cannot be affected by your curse." Varian replied. "Don't you find that kind of love familiar?"

McCopper sees visions of himself and his nephew, Sonny, and sighs. "Wow, maybe John really does deserve a favor. Spirit, what will happen to that kind lad?"

"Well, it won't be very good. If these shadows remain unchanged, then… I see an empty chair where Teeny Tom once sat."

"You're saying that…" Scrooge looks at Teeny Tom. "He'll die?" He turns to see Spirit Varian's face turn into McCopper's.

"If he's gonna die, let him!" The spirit shouted in McCopper's voice. "His death will ease the problem of the surplus population, and one less mouth to feed."

"DYAAHH!" McCopper screamed. "THAT'S STILL SCARY!"

"Well, that's exactly what you said about Tom beforehand."

"Was I really THAT bad? Geez!"

"I'll give you this, McCopper. You're not as bad as Darwin… or your 'insurance' friends."

Suddenly, everything turns into a wall-less room with a gray wooden floor.

"Where are we now?" Scrooge sees Varian is a little older now. "WHAAA! I don't remember you looking like THAT!"

"I'll answer that second statement later. This will be our last trip. And this is where you'll see Darwin for more than what you've heard. This will finally show you the reason why your partners never told you about him."

Suddenly, Darwin appears from the shadows along with a figure McCopper was surprised to have seen.

"It's…It's him! The monster who scared me away from shoe shining!"

"So, buddy, how goes the… uh… taking care of Ol' Coppy?" Darwin asked.

"How odd is it for me to say… McCopper has already died in someone else's hands." The figure answered.

"Duh WHAT?! What kind of hired assassin says the target's dead but he didn't kill him?"

"Because he died before I could kill him. Apparently, his old girlfriend came, smashed his magic staff and stabbed him."

"Well, dang! But at least he's gone for good. Now I can finally step in and take his place as CEO of McCopper & Weasley Toy Industries." Darwin chuckles darkly. "Then my chain of stores will be the greatest businesses in the world. It's great to have you around… father."

"Father?!" Scrooge asked with surprise. "That monster is his son?!

"Indeed." Spirit Varian answered. "He is also half-related to the Weasleys. Alan and Drakey's aunt got married to that assassin on the exact same day you berated at your family. They ended up accidentally having a child who had the exact same dream. The rest you know."

"Well, I suppose that explains where his first name comes from. But HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO BLIND TO HIS HERITAGE?! Spirit, I've gotta do something—" He sees that Varian is much older. "WAAARRRGGHHHH!"

"My time is almost up, McCopper. I have some final words to say before I move on." The spirit shows him two young and and ugly people.

"OH MY, GOD! What are those abominations?!"

"They truly are abominations. They are Ignorance and Want! Stay clear of BOTH, and all their degree. But most of all, beware of the male one! For on his brow I see that written which is doom, unless the writing be erased."

"Okay, you're really starting to creep me out—" A loud bell chimes, and the spirit of Varian has a throbbing pain in his chest, and falls to the ground laughing as the bell chimes continue 11 times, all the while the spirit's skin starts to turn into dust as he is still laughing even while reduced to a skeleton.

"OH, THE HORROR!" Scrooge screamed as the bells chime a 12th time and the spirit of Varian disintegrates into thin air, and McCopper is sucked into the blackness of the room. "Whoa! Wha—WHAT'S HAPPENING?! NO, NO, NOOOOOOOOOO!" He disappears.

Scrooge wakes up in his bedroom screaming and starts hyperventilating, then calms down. "John… what have I done? But what can I do? The princess of Corona won't let me make amends, and her parents certainly won't hesitate to…do me in if I refuse to bow. I can't do anything to the curse now. But…I'm also afraid of… the third ghost. I'm worried this will only get worse, very worse." He runs down into the living room and finds that nobody is there. "Henry? Miss Porter? PAIGE?! ARE YOU THERE?!" He gulps and sighs. "My God, I'm starting to feel uneasy with this." He searches the manor and eventually finds Henry's room and actually ghosts through it. "WHAT?!" He finds that Henry, Miss Porter and Paige are in the room. "Guys? GUYS! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" He sighs. "This is gonna hurt… BADLY!"

"Is McCopper okay?" Henry asked.

"I checked on him. He's still in bed." Miss Porter answered. "Possibly still experiencing… three ghosts." She shivers.

"From what I heard from the elves at the North Pole, the curse has spread over 78% by now." Paige said. "There's nothing I can do clear off the curse's range."

"Uh, princess of Corona… if you can hear me… just listen!" McCopper pleaded. "If you don't hate me, this is. I don't know how much of the present ghost you saw, but please! The curse would remain alive if your parents that I turned into harbingers remain uncured! Please, I'm not that same idiot from before who rejected his family. I'm a different idiot now! Wait, that last bit didn't come out right, but GAAHHH, overall, I'm sorry! I-I don't need to see more now! Your parents won't allow me to stop the curse! Now, please, there's no need to—"

"I'm afraid I don't just go away that easily…" a voice rang in McCopper's ear. He gasped and saw a silhouette standing before him in a Grim-Reaper-like shape and gulps.

"MOMMY, HELP! Oh, wait, she can't, darn it!"

* * *

**Another chapter done. I'd like to comment about John's children. His daughter will be named Holly and his oldest son's name is Jonathan Jr. Also, the song in this chapter is another one from "The Muppet Christmas Carol".**

**The next chapter will have Hook Hand Thug be the Ghost of Christmas Future, See you then!**


	10. The Ghost of Christmas Future

Back in Corona, most of the other citizens are now affected by McCopper's curse.

"WE MUST DESTROY CHRISTMAS!" King Frederic exclaimed. Everyone is now attacking the kingdom, creating total chaos. A man farts while holding a lit match to his butt and melts a child's snowman down, causing her to cry.

"DIE, FAT MAN!" A woman growled as her dog attacks a model of Santa and tears it up like an animal, causing the model's head to fall to the ground.

"THAT LADY'S DOG JUST KILLED SANTA CLAUS!" A child screamed. Local children ran away, but some got consumed by the curse as well.

Queen Arianna cackles maniacally as she punches a house strongly, tearing the wall down and showing a naked man in a bathtub.

"No, no, no, no, NO, NOOO!" the man screams as his bathtub slid down, falls to the ground and breaks.

"Shaddap!" shouted a tainted boy. He smacks the man in the face and laughs.

A curse-tainted girl shovels the snow and then stops in one spot. "There we go." It's revealed she made the words 'Santa Hates Puppies' in the snow. "Oh, Sally, you sly old fox!"

"Oh, yeah?" Her friend remarked. "That's nothing. Check this out!" He shows her that he made four snowmen near a sled and it looks like the sled ran over one them are staring in shock. "Live long and SUCK it!"

Now everyone in the kingdom has been consumed by the curse and are doing all sorts of naughty stuff.

Back at the North Pole, Alfred checks the map globe, which shows a giant green shape representing the curse spreading and it has now reached its 80's.

"The curse has now reached its 80's! We don't have much time!" he warned.

"I'd like to give that old scroogy McCopper jerkoff a Christmas being for mesmerizing my parents and their citizens and making them Christmas haters!" Rapunzel said angrily.

Pascal agrees with an angry look as well.

"Firstly, don't worry about McCopper." Eugene said, trying to calm his angry wife. "Come Christmas Eve, he'll finally learn to improve his attitude. He'll no longer be a threat."

At McCopper Manor, Scrooge is scared at the sight of the third ghost, who was wearing a robe with his hood up. "I… are you… the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come?" he asked shakily.

"I prefer the term 'Ghost of Christmas Future'." The ghost said in a dark, brooding voice. "That's how they thought of me in the 16th century. And allow me to say a few things. Firstly, let me show what goes on in your soon-to-be-unpleasant result if you allow the curse to continue. It's up to you to defeat it or else THIS will follow."

McCopper suddenly finds himself in a darker North Pole and sees a horrible-looking factory as he reacts horribly to a smell. "OOOHHHH! PYEWEE! That's some stink. It smells like the fart of a fossilized dinosaur! Where am I?!"

"The metaphorical ghost of the former shell, of Santa's workshop. Because of your curse, Santa had no choice but to cancel his deliveries this year. As a result, nobody believed in Christmas, and therefore nobody believed in peace and goodwill. Chaos erupted and lawlessness dominated. Millions of people have died. As for the workshop, Christmas was struggled to be fixed, but because everyone was so naughty for years, there was no need for Santa anymore. Yet, Santa still tried his best to bring peace for the good of everyone who lost their goodwill because of A SCROOGE!"

"What kind of ghost are you?!"

"Well, what did you expect? The future is an unknown subject, and most of speculation derives from horror and death. This is all that's left of Santa's workshop. Just look at the toxic waste they've produced searching for a new resource since the chaos resulted in their power shorting out!" Loads of toxic waste is seen all over the workshop, and even spreading into the ocean. "In fact, the toxins are taking as much of a toll on the elves than the workshop.

"What?"

"Take a look!" They are magically sent inside the workshop. "As the toxins spread, the elves has been exposed to it so much while trying to keep up with finding a new resource. Now they're a race of genetically mutated disasters. Almost 60% of them are born blind!" An elf sows up a teddy bear, but then it goes into his skin. He screams in pain and runs off. Then Alfred, Teddy, Dougie and Grace. "The workload destroys them. But they don't know anything else. They've been brainwashed so much by the toxins that they think of nothing else but to make toys and find a new resource, completely forgetting about what the purpose of them is. Not to mention the reindeer have quit to avoid ending up like these poor elves. Now the reindeer spend most of their mortal-ized lives on an island that's the only place free of the injustice and terror that goes on. As for poor Santa…well…" The ghost teleports them to Santa's office and shows Santa is now very sick with medical appliances supporting him. "He's now turned completely ill, not just from the toxins, but by the cold that resulted in them losing their temperature control and allowing him to become even MORE sick. By next year, he'll surely die." Santa coughs out blood as a deformed elf brings him undercooked toast.

"Thanks, Nedry!" Santa said and gulps it down.

"EWW! NASTY!" McCopper reacted disgustedly. "Okay, what's wrong with you, spirit?! Is this your demented sense of cruelty and torture? I mean, why in the flying freak would Santa allow something like THIS to happen!"

"HIM?! He didn't do this!" the ghost responded with a loud booming voice. "YOOOOOOOOOU DID!"

A song comes on as Santa is suddenly able to see both of them.

Santa:_  
Each bell would peel with a silvery zeal  
As the holiday feeling was filling us.  
But now instead, all we're feeling is dread  
Because Christmastime is killing us!_

Elves:  
_Each Christmas list gets us more and more pissed  
Till the though of existence is chilling us._

Santa:  
_I'll tell you what.  
Shove your list up your butt  
_(with elves joining) _Christmastime is killing us!_

Ghost of Christmas Future:  
_But can't you see that what you do  
Is a dream come true?  
Can't you see that every smile  
Makes it all worthwhile?_

Santa:  
_No, screw you!  
It's all but through,  
There's too much to do.  
All those dreams are nightmares  
And blank icy stares._

_Each little elf used to fill up a shelf  
Making playthings and selflessly thrilling us.  
Now they're on crack and it feels like Iraq  
Because Christmastime is killing us!_

Elves:  
_Each model train only heightens the pain  
Of the workload that's straining and drilling us._

Santa:  
_Fingers all bleed and look!  
That guy just peed  
Because Christmastime is killing us!_

Ghost of Christmas Future:  
_But can't you see our point of view?  
We rely on you.  
Can't you see that Christmas cheer  
Gets us through the year?_

Santa:  
_My whole crew is black and blue.  
Can't you take a clue?  
You may think I look great,  
But I'm 28!_

Santa and Elves:  
_Each jingle bell is a requiem knell,  
And while you think it's swell, we are toiling in hell!_

Santa:  
_Take a look, you can tell, as a man, I'm a shell!  
_(with elves)_ Because Christmastime is killing us!  
Killing us!  
Christmastime is killing us!_

"Please tell me it doesn't get worse." McCopper said.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said, 'It'll be just fine'…WHICH IT WON'T BE, PAL!" The ghost replied. They are then sent to his hometown.

"Spirit, what happened to this town?"

"Let's just say…in a nice way…It's seen better days. A lot of people became crooks now, or at the very least, uncaring people. The nice people that still exist hide in their homes in fear of the disaster before them."

"I can hardly believe this, I—" McCopper started to say, but then sees some corrupted-looking noblemen. "I know those men! They're rich men I've seen a lot on the New Year Auctions."

"That's right, and they were once decent rich men. But thanks to you, they're as evil as stereotypical evil greedy freaks that hate the environment and rights for the less fortunate 99%. Thanks to evil becoming more dominant, criminals have successfully dominated the government. And the one who was responsible for all this chaos was YOU! All because you hated a simple holiday that was meant to keep peace alive. No Christmas, no peace and goodwill!"

"Spirit, all this happened because of a curse? One simple curse to punish a holiday for reminding me of something I had a problem with, caused something like THIS?! How is that even possible?"

"You'd be amazed how one fatal mistake can affect everyone that's caught in its radius."

"So literally, in the final days of this…awful empire…nothing is considered sacred anymore?"

"Oh, you have no freaking idea, pal. Like I said, Christmas keeps peace alive and well, and if it's destroyed, so is peace. There are even no limits on robbing from the dead. In fact, right now there's some plunderers that were once decent people that you know heading to the shop of a corrupted pawn broker. Behold!"

McCopper turns to see a damaged pawn shop as he sees corrupted versions of Henry, Miss Porter and a launder he knows heading to a shop owned by a man wearing an eye patch.

"Henry?! Miss Porter?! Miss Maples?! What's happened to them?" he asked.

"Victims of the loss of morality." The ghost answered. "They robbed what is left of your mansion, and are about to sell it off."

"MY MANSION?! They would never do such a thing!"

"Not when they're corrupted, they wouldn't. Surely you know that this is what happened when you completed the curse."

The two appear at the shop to get a closer look.

"Well, ze maid, ze launder, and ze butler." The eyepatch-wearing man greeted in a German accent and chuckled. "Vhat goods from a poor stiff did you rob zhis time?"

"It's what's left of a former possession I had." Miss Porter answered as she brings up bed curtains. "I think these might be worth a fortune, won't it, Ol' Buzz?"

"His bed curtains?" Ol' Buzz cackles. "Don't tell me you plundered these while he was STILL THERE!"

"Why should I care? He's responsible for the worse life ever. Not like anyone gives a crap these days.

"I got his cane and suit." Henry said as he shows the mentioned items.

"I got his sheets." Miss Maples said and shows them as everyone paused. Henry, Porter and Buzz laughed. "WHAT?! COME ON, I'M SURE IT'S WORTH A FORTUNE!"

"Oh, whatever!" Buzz said. "Let me just give you your earned money." He pays Henry and Miss Porter a dozen dollars. He also paid Maples only one nickel.

Maples reacts angrily, grabs Miss Porter's dollars, but they get into a brawl for a while.

McCopper is mortified. "I know I should technically be mad for these treasonous acts, but…it's not their fault they act like this. You said so yourself, spirit. Everyone has gone insane from this madness."

"That's nothing!" The ghost responded. "You should hear what happened to Paige after all this! She—"

"Spirit, I don't want to see those poor souls like this, and I certainly don't wish to learn of Paige! Take me somewhere else! Surely Darwin, as much as I hate him now, has never benefitted from this."

"You couldn't be more wrong, McCopper! Here is another story." They teleport to a local store. "Here is where Darwin works."

Scrooge recognizes the top of the shop. "Is it me, or has this guy been making a lot more than what he's worth?"

"That's because he achieved the goal that you had failed to do. Become the greatest businessman in the world. He had purchased your company when it was taken from you, and now he makes lots more money." They look inside to see Darwin dive into a pool of dollars.

"HA-HAH! I did it!" Darwin laughed. "I finally did it. McCopper's dream is MINE! I'm the best businessman in the world! So what if there is no longer rules to abide by, I still have riches to make a great living. And what's best, I'm glad that McCopper Is gone and unable to stop me. I WILL BE THE BEST BUSINESSMAN FOREVER! Well, not forever, but soon." He cackles.

"Geez, what a jack!" Scrooge exclaimed. "I hope he's happy. If there's anything their cousins, the Weasleys, had shown me, he's in for an unpleasant surprise at the end of his life. But overall, if I ever get out of this, I'll go straight up to his store building and rip his guts off and shove them in his—"

The Ghost cuts him off. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, let's not get personal, Scrooge!"

"Wait a minute. John. How's John doing? In fact, how are my employees doing?"

"Not good, I'm afraid. You see, since your company was bought by Darwin's store chain, your employees got out of a job. And they're happy, too, because they think anything's better than working with you. As for John…well…look."

They are magically sent to John's house as he is seen on the table sobbing.

"Well…whatever happened to Teeny Tom?"

"Sadly, John couldn't get the money to save him from polio, and the polio became permanent and killed him."

"Oh no!"

"But he's also sad for you."

"ME? After all this MESS?!"

"Yes. You reminded him of his dead father. He hated Christmas too because he had a Jewish heritage that was victimized by the Spanish Inquisition. He hoped for you to change. He wished for you to have a better life. Not what you would get instead. Especially since you were also the only one in the way of Darwin from buying the toy company, which came first, before buying out his wife from the cleaning supplies company. Because of it, the inside of this house truly fits what it looks out on the outside, only worse."

"John…"

"Mr. McCopper," John said with a soft sob. "If only you changed…then a lot of people wouldn't be…" He sobs more. "Oh, Tom, I'm so sorry I couldn't get you that vaccination as promised." He walks right near the window that Scrooge is looking through, and McCopper comes face-to-face with him, seeing all the sadness in his expression and feeling horrible about it as he left, carrying a lone crutch in his hand.

"My God! But where's the rest of his family?" Scrooge asked.

"They died off in earlier days." The Ghost of Christmas Future answered.

A tear falls down Scrooge's eye as he looks at the Ghost, who looks even more ominous. "Spirit, I didn't want this to happen. I didn't know what I was thinking about all this. Please, are these shadows what is truly set in motion, written in stone, or can they have yet to be changed?"

"You know what you have to do, McCopper! End the curse, make amends to the people you harshly mistreated, family included, and simply stop being a greedy retard." The spirit takes off his hood to reveal himself to be Hook Hand Thug.

They are then teleported to a dark cemetery and standing in front of a solitary gravestone.

"Spirit, who's lonely grave is this?" Scrooge asked. A flash of lightning, accompanied by thunder, lights up the grave, showing his name engraved on it, causing the man to gasp in horror. "YIKES!"

"Why yours, McCopper!" Hook Hand Thug's spirit spoke in a loud booming voice. "THE RICHEST MAN IN THE CEMETERY!" He cackles menacingly as he pushes Scrooge into the hole where his future self Is buried. The coffin opens and begins sucking him towards it like a black hole.

McCopper screams as he hangs onto a root for dear life and attempts to climb up to no avail. People are randomly seen in his head.

"YOU CAN DO IT, SCROOGE!" Alan shouted.

"DON'T LET THE CURSE RUIN CHRISTMAS!" Drakey yelled.

"GIVE HIM THE SLIP AND TEACH DARWIN A LESSON!" A man shouted.

"MCCOPPER, HURRY!" Paige wailed.

"PLEASE MAKE HASTE!" Henry called out as he appears with Miss Porter and Maple.

"UNCLE, PLEASE! DON'T STAY MEAN!" Sonny pleaded.

"GET YOUR HEAD ON STRAIGHT AND STRAIGHTEN THINGS OUT!" Rapunzel screamed.

"ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT THIS, MCCOPPER! GO AND SET THINGS RIGHT!" Eugene declared.

"WE BELIEVE IN YOU!" McCopper's parents yelled.

The Ghost of Christmas Past and Present are seen in their baseless forms. "HURRY, MCCOPPER!"

"GO AND PREVENT THE RUINING OF THE HOLIDAYS AS WE KNOW IT!" Ghost of Christmas Present yelled.

"SIR, YOU MUST DO IT FOR ME AND MY FAMILY!" John pleaded.

"Pretty please, Mr. McCopper? BE BRAVE!" Teeny Tom shouted.

"BE STRONG, BROTHER! CORRECT YOUR MISTAKE! NO MATTER WHAT, WE WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!" Bob yelled.

The root McCopper was clinging to broke as he gets sucked towards his coffin.

"NOOOOOO! I'LL CHANGE! I'LL CHAAAANNNNGGGGEEE!" he screamed as he nears the black hole-like coffin and gets sucked in.

* * *

**This is the third and final spirit. I'll bet you that Brad Garrett, who voiced Hook Hand Thug, would be the perfect actor to speak in a loud, booming and ominous voice. So, it's a good thing I chose him to be the Ghost of Christmas Future.**

**Now that McCopper finally learned his lesson, the next chapter will have him make amends and end the curse once and for all! I will see you all then!**


	11. The Making of Amends Begins

Scrooge screams awake and finds himself back in his room. "I'm back in the manor!" He looks outside and sees that the town isn't barren. "MY GOD, IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE?!" he sighs in relief. "Thank God, that spirit nearly gave me a heart attack! They've given me another chance!" He takes a deep breath and looks determined. "Alright, McCopper, grab your moneybags. You've got so much to do. I'm off!" He gets dressed, goes out the door and approaches Miss Porter.

"Oh, hey, McCopper, I—" she said before McCopper cuts her off by giving her a moneybag. "What the?"

"Merry Christmas, Miss Porter!" he greeted her. "Consider this your early payment for helping."

"Wow, Scrooge, you're in a chipper mood this morning."

"No time for that, I've got to do a few things right quick. Tell the others I'll be back soon!" He goes out the door.

"Oooookay, what'd I miss?"

McCopper approaches Henry, who is grooming the horse used to pull the carriage, at the stable. "Henry!"

Henry lets out a startled gasp as he tumbles to the ground. "OOF! Oh, sir, you startled me!"

"Henry, grooming the horse will have to wait. There're a few visits you need to take me to. I had a life-changing empiphany!"

Henry realized he was changed. "Well, why didn't you just say so? Of course! Does it have anything to do with your curse dying out?"

"More than that! MUCH more! Oh, and uh…" He gives his butler two bags of money. "Here's some bundles of cash for you when you're done. I've already covered Miss Porter. Now let's go!"

"Where should we go first?"

"I'll tell you on the way." They both hook the horse to the carriage and they ride off.

Nigel and Stanley are doing their jobs in charity as the carriage drives right to them and stops in front of them.

"What the?!" Nigel exclaimed as McCopper comes out.

"AAHHH!" Stanley screamed as he stumbles into the snow headfirst by accident. "I'm okay!"

"Good heavens!"

"Is that McCopper's carriage? He doesn't want to be mean to us again, does he?"

McCopper appears to both. "Oh, don't worry, gentlemen! I've been thinking about your concern for the budget of Prison 42 and all relief efforts your associated with and I decided that bygones be bygones! Here!" He gives them a bag of money.

"20 dollars, oh no!" Nigel wailed.

"Oh, is that not enough? Well okay, 50 dollars!" Scrooge puts another bag inside Stanley's pants.

"Well, McCopper, that's—" Stanley started to say.

"Still not enough? THEN HAVE SOME MORE!" He throws five whole moneybags on them, covering them in a pile of dollars. "10,000 dollars and not a penny more!"

"10.000-I-BU-JU-WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!" Nigel exclaimed in surprise. "By Jove! It's like you've had a major experience."

"Don't ask! By the way, MERRY CHRISTMAS! Enjoy making sure that peace is kept." He jumps into the carriage and horse pulls it off.

"WELL, THANK YOU, MR. MCCOPPER! AND A MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!"

"That's the weirdest act of meanness yet." Stanley said. "Has McCopper lost his mind?"

"It's not an act of insanity, Stanford! It's a Christmas Carol-based miracle."

"Yeah, a miracle that made him insane. McCopper isn't normally nice."

"Trust me, Stan. A spontaneous change in demeanour isn't considered being insane. It's all a part of mysterious forces that even science will never understand."

"Okay, I'll take your word for it. Now let's hurry and take the money to the office before McCopper snaps out of it!"

"We can take all the time we need. I think Mr. McCopper has finally seen the light."

At Copper & Weasley Toys HQ, the employees arrived depressed, even the security guards.

"It almost doesn't feel right. Especially the news about him magically cursing people into being jerks." James said. "Imagine what that could do to our lives if he doesn't stop it in time."

"James, Mr. McCopper will be much different after this." John spoke.

"Oh, PFFT, what? Like he's gonna suddenly come here and tell us he has an important announcement—"

The carriage arrives and McCopper runs cartoonishly quickly to them. "ALL OF YOU, I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT!"

"That still doesn't mean anything."

Scrooge clears his throat. "People…I have this to say… WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! Especially on Christmas Eve?!" Everyone starts to become confused.

"Uh…because you told us to?"

"Yeah? Well guess what, you can forget about that crap and acknowledge me saying that…YOU CAN HAVE THE HOLIDAYS OFF!" Everyone gets even more confused. "Did you guys hear me? You've got the holidays off! I will do what I can to make the curse kick the bucket and now you're looking at the new McCopper."

"But you're still the same."

McCopper scoffs. "I didn't mean it that way, you knuckle-head! I'm backing off the deal with Darwin today. I have been told recently of where he came from and how he betrayed a good friend of mine! In fact, he hired an assassin on me to dispose of me so he can have this company for him, and maybe fire you all in the process in the likely chance he'll replace you all with machines." The employees gasped.

"Dang! I didn't know Darwin had it in him. He seemed like a guy I would drink with."

"I realized now!" John exclaimed. "He's the same Darwin that's been harassing my wife over her father's company for cleaning supplies."

"So, for Christmas's sake, I'm baking off the deal and you get today and tomorrow off again and don't have to work extra for boxing day for less pay. Oh, and another thing!" He uses his magic staff to make bags of money appear. "DUE CHRISTMAS BONUSES FOR EVERYONE!" He magically makes the moneybags erupt like a volcano while everyone paused at first. They then cheered as they ran around collecting money.

"WHOOOOO! SORRY I DOUBTED YOU, JOHNNY BOY!" James cheered. "YAAA-HOOOOO!"

"He changed!" John cheered as McCopper came up to him.

"John? I'll meet you personally at your house in a minute." He said. "Right now, I've got some unfinished business to take care of." He chuckles as he walks out the door.

"Okay, I'll just get the money I need." He joins the others in collecting money.

At the corporate base of Darwin's store chain, Darwin chuckles as he was counting his piles of money. "Just enough money to eventually buy out the cleaning supplies place from John! After someone personally deals with McCopper."

"And you have me to help you win this case, boss!" said his lawyer, Hammy, who is right beside him. "I love being a company lawyer! I never lose a case."

"What about the one with your last boss?"

"A fluke."

"The one with Kevin."

"Had to face legal issues."

"Those rednecks."

"It didn't end badly for them."

"Uh, not from what I heard. To put it short and sweet, one of them bet their liver on the case, but we sowed it back in, so it's not all that bad, right? But anyway, I assure you that this court case will win."

"It'd better. But at least I know that by now, McCopper will be destroyed in due time." Darwin sips tea until he sees McCopper's carriage appearing, and when Scrooge appears angrily, he spits out his tea in surprise. "WHAAAAT?!"

"MCCOPPER, GO EASY ON THE GUY!" Henry shouted from the carriage.

"I'm sure I will!" Scrooge answered. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a present for him!" He takes out his staff and goes inside as everyone is shocked to see him and he comes up to the lobbyist. "Tell Mr. Darwin his business dealer is here!"

"Yes, sir!" The lobbyist replied. Scrooge goes up the stairs and everyone is shocked to see him again. He bursts into Darwin's office.

"DARWIN!" He shouts. Darwin screams like a girl and hides inside a money pile. "I'll get right to the point! THE DEAL IS UP!"

"UP?! On what grounds?!" Darwin asked. "Our companies have never been more profitable!"

"Profit schmofit!" McCopper smacks Darwin to the window as his mushed face slides down to the floor. "You tried to get rid of me by sending a hitman to assassinate me! YOU EVEN BETRAYED MY OLD FRIEND! THAT'S WHY I'M DONE DOIING BUSINESS WITH YOU!"

"NO, PLEASE, LISTEN TO ME! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! THIS DEAL IS GOING THROUGH THE ROOF! You do not know what I have done to get this position! The lies I've told, the LIVES I'VE RUINED!" His scared face shrinks. "This isn't helping me."

"If my partners had warned me about you beforehand, I wouldn't have trusted you. So starting after Christmas, not only will I cut off deals with you, but you will be put in court for attempting to murder me!"

"WHAT?! HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY KNOW THAT?! You cannot prove it! Plus, may I remind you that you signed a contract?"

"Oh, yeah? Well, here's what I say to that!" Scrooge takes out the contract, magically turns it into some broccoli with his staff and stuffs it in Darwin's mouth.

"YOU IDIOT!" Darwin's shouts muffled from the broccoli. "I'M ALLERGIC TO BROCCOLI!" He swells up and spits out the broccoli.

"Good thing I knew that since before you even betrayed my friend! I'll see you in court this 26th, you big jack!" McCopper leaves as Darwin looks stunned.

"You want me to defend you on that?" Hammy asked.

"At least it won't be worse!" Darwin replied through his swollen state as his words were muffled. Suddenly, guards are heard.

"Oh, I hope you don't mind, but I let the authorities in on your little scam." McCopper said from down the hall. "And my friend as well. He would like to deal with you personally in court as well."

"You know, seriously, saying it can't get worse just makes it worse." Hammy commented. "It's a known karma trigger."

"Hammy, you'd better win this, or you're fired!" Darwin threatened his lawyer.

"You're going to fire me as a lawyer altogether? That makes no sense at all!" Darwin sighs.

Back at Santa's workshop, Rapunzel, Eugene, Pascal, Santa and the elves saw the whole thing through the Snowveillance globe.

"Well, everyone, the scroogy mastermind has finally reformed." Alfred said. "Looks like there is only one thing left to do. Pick him up and have him avert the curse crisis and prevent the death of peace and goodwill in time for Christmas Eve. Normally, problems tend to last before Christmas Day."

"Then there's not a moment to lose!" Santa declared. "Everyone, to the sleigh!" The group runs to Santa's sleigh and the reindeer take off at high speed to find McCopper.

Meanwhile, at John's house, John's wife is preparing breakfast as the children wait patiently but sadly.

"Dad's missing breakfast again?" Teeny Tom asked.

"You know dad has an obligation to that old man McCopper." His mother sighed. "Especially that he didn't even get a break on Christmas Eve, much less—" Before she could finish, John bursts in, surprising everyone.

"DADDY!" Holly and Jonathan Jr. exclaimed as all but Tom ran up to their father and hugged him.

"John? You're home?" John's wife asked. "Why?"

"You won't believe this, Helena, but Mr. McCopper came in and gave me the day off." John answered. "And what's even better is that I finally have the money for Tom's polio vaccination!" He takes out the money.

Helena was speechless.

"I always knew Mr. McCopper would come through!" Tom exclaimed delightedly as he hugs his father. "I'll finally get to walk again!"

"Are you sure this is the same McCopper?" Helena asked. A knock on the door was heard.

"Oh, that must be him." John opens the door and sees it is McCopper. "Yep."

"John…" Scrooge began. "I had known about your son's sickness for a while and I hope the Christmas Bonus helps. But also, I have news regarding the company. I plan to retire after my successful lawsuit against Darwin for attempting an assassination on my life. I will finally make Paige the happiest woman in the world. Which is why you and James shall be granted full authority to the Toy Company."

John and his family are surprised. "What?"

"I think I died and gone to an alternate life." Helena claimed.

"Sir…you're giving up on your dream for the best business ever?" John asked.

"It was an attractive pipe dream, but if it were to become the best…it'll have to be without my interference." Scrooge answered. "I'm entrusting it to you and James."

John smiles. "I promise you won't be disappointed, sir."

"Thank you. Well, I had better get going. I have got things to do. I hope your son gets better. Merry Christmas."

"And God bless us everyone." Tom said as he hugs McCopper. When he pulls away, Scrooge leaves.

"I am clearly alive!" Helena exclaimed. "McCopper has officially lost his marbles."

"No, Helena!" John said defensively. "He just found the spirit of Christmas… and true happiness."

As Scrooge rides in his carriage being driven by Henry, he says to his butler, "Henry? I never realized how great it is to be making amends to the people like this. I'm glad to be making them."

"It's wonderful to hear things like that from you, sir." Henry replied. "And it's especially wonderful that you're donating the Weasley Manor as a new orphanage. Those people can certainly look forward to a new profession. I'll miss working with you, sir."

"Oh, it doesn't have to be permanent, Henry. You can always visit me and Paige, especially on Christmas."

"Oh, sir! I'd be especially delighted to—" They suddenly saw Santa's sleigh land in front of them.

"Oh, McCopper, thank goodness we found you!" Rapunzel exclaimed.

"My wife's parents and many of the people in her hometown have been affected by your curse." Eugene warned. "We need you to put an end to this crisis!"

"Hey, you're those two people I saw at the end of the epiphany I had." Scrooge remarked. "There is no time to waste! I need to right all the wrongs I made!" He climbs into the sleigh and the reindeer pull it into the air and take off quickly. Upon reaching the kingdom of Corona, everyone could see the tainted victims creating total chaos.

McCopper has a look of horror and guilt on his face. "What have I done? I have to fix this!" He raises his staff and fully blasts a light of magic at the citizens. The magic spreads throughout the kingdom. In a matter of time, all the townspeople's eyes turn back to normal and they are cured from their corruption.

"Uggh…" King Frederic groaned as he rubs his head as if he had a throbbing headache. "Where am I? What happened? Where's McCopper?"

"Right here." Scrooge said as he walks up to everyone and takes off his hat in remorse. "Citizens of Corona, I controlled you all with my curse. I made you hate Christmas and cause mischief to this kingdom."

"WHAT?!" A man shouted.

"Well, that explains why I'm covered in chocolate." A boy said as wipes the chocolate off him.

The king, queen and other people are mostly either surprised or upset to see McCopper. "Oh, look who's here after he almost wrecked Christmas and somehow peace for the world!" A woman declared angrily.

Scrooge takes a deep breath before starting his speech. "Well, I don't blame you for being mad of what I did recently. My actions are unacceptable and inappropriate. I will not expect your sympathies for being the fool that I was. I made foul decisions that I had corrected out of true remorse that I will understand if it does not convince you. I gave the donation men the money they need to help their causes and Prison 42 most of all out of its financial trouble. I gave the employees holidays off and changed the deals. I got out of Darwin's deal and I gave him a piece of my mind for what he tried to do. I plan to help John will all his problems in due time. But before I do, I want to say sorry to all of you for almost ruining your reputations, your Christmas and maybe even what sense of respect you may or may not have. Even my nephew, Sonny asked me to join for his Christmas party, but I bluntly refused. I was a bit of a jerk to him. I will ask him if the invitation to his party is still open. I will not expect a yes, but at least an acknowledgement that…I am not that same fool who treated all life like dirt. That McCopper is no more. Now, I am a repenting old fool who understands if no one forgives me for what I did. I couldn't say sorry any more than I could, and I perfectly acknowledge it won't change the past. But please know that I know right now that I was wrong."

"You'll need more than THAT to convince us!" A girl in the crowd spat.

"It's okay. I plan to retire from business, give the toy company to John and James and use what money I didn't already give away and plan to use for my future lawsuit on Darwin to buy back that cottage so Paige and I can have the future we've always wanted. I even plan to apologize to my family and thank them for accepting what kind of path I wanted to walk and wish to be accepted even when I am still cautious of being a shoe shiner. And let's be honest, I'm too old to learn it again anyway. I have bad arthritis like you wouldn't believe. I just wish…I just wish my brother and parents were here to hear that."

The crowd is silent. "I see. You're unsure on how to react now. Please know and remember that…I am deeply sorry for my mistakes."

Before he could even turn, Queen Arianna approached him. "Of course, we forgive you." She said. "And as for your nephew's celebration, you should ask him if it's still open for him while you can. And I hope they got you your favorite dish for a feast, egg custard tarts."

"Really?! Uh…I mean, that's wonderful and great! Merry Christmas, everybody!" Everyone cheers as Scrooge bows in respect and leaves to make amends with his relatives and the rest of his family.

* * *

**And so, McCopper has finally seen the Christmas spirit and everything has gone back to normal.**

**There's only one chapter left to work on before this Christmas story finally comes to an end. I'm so excited that I'm almost done since this story took months to work on! Anyway, catch you all later!**


	12. Epilogue

**This is it! This is the final chapter of this Christmas story which took months to complete! Get ready to read in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!**

* * *

It is now Christmas Day.

At Santa's workshop, Santa and the elves are relieved and happy that Christmas hasn't been ruined.

"Well, everyone, I'm glad the curse crisis has been averted. The scroogy mastermind has reformed and prevented death of peace and goodwill just in time for Christmas Eve." Santa said. "I consider that a new record. Normally, problems tend to last before Christmas Day.

"The even more good news is that McCopper made amends with his family and Paige and is attending his nephew's Christmas celebration and is eating his favorite food: egg custard tarts!" Alfred exclaimed with glee.

In the kingdom of Corona, the citizens are enjoying the Christmas party, and some are opening presents as Christmas music is being played.

"Honey, I am glad McCopper stopped that curse and saved Christmas from being ruined." King Fredric said to his wife.

"Oh, yeah, he did good." Queen Arianna responded.

"Rapunzel and Eugene, may I present to you my Christmas gift to you." Varian announced to the princess and her husband. "Behold, an ice sculpture of Cassandra made of Antarctic snow!" He shows them the sculpture, but it appears half-melted.

"Uh, Varian, I think the sculpture is a bit melted!" Eugene said.

"What?" Varian sees the sculpture. "Aw, blast! I knew I should've kept it somewhere extremely cold until the right time to show to you."

"Well, I bet it was beautiful. Thanks anyway, Varian." Rapunzel said as she hugged Varian, which he gladly reciprocated.

* * *

The next day, Scrooge McCopper has processed his final act as toy company owner to sue Darwin Weasley for attempted assassination and mass control of the now crumbling store chain. The court was won, and Darwin has been sent to the now out-of-debt Prison 42 and the original owner of the stores included in the store chain is restoring the stores to their former glory. Scrooge has since retired and is now living in a cottage with the owner of Paige Toys Inc., Miss Paige. In lighter news, folks are still talking about the most epic chaos before Christmas ever since. It wasn't expected, but it still certainly gave the year an exciting note to end on its final days before entering the new year.

THE END

* * *

**Well, there you have it! The final chapter of my Christmas story! After months of working on this, I'm finally done! Woohoo! I hope you enjoyed it! The next story will be for Mother's Day. If I don't have the story posted on that day, then I probably got more important things to do that day.**

**Feel free to review and I'll see you all real soon!**


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